Touchdown in Delhi: Christopher Luxon fires starting gun on trade talks with India

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has touted a "breakthrough" with India on his arrival in New Delhi as both countries agree to start free trade negotiations, a decade after the last effort stalled.

The announcement will bring some relief to Luxon given his audacious pre-election pledge to secure a trade deal with India within his first term.

But the path ahead could still be a difficult one, given significant sticking points - namely the dairy industry - have foiled progress before.

"It's a great win for New Zealand," Luxon told reporters. "It's a great way to start the trip. I mean, we've got a breakthrough economic agenda here."

Luxon made the comments after touching down on the Defence Force 757 in India late Sunday (NZT), treated to a colourful cultural performance by traditional folk dancers on arrival.

The development was announced by the Indian government following a day of talks between Trade Minister Todd McClay and his counterpart.

"We have committed to working as quickly as we can to deliver an agreement that works for both sides," McClay said, standing alongside Luxon. "The hard work starts now."

Previous trade talks running from 2011 through to 2015 were unsuccessful, with dairy proving a major obstacle.

Easing steep agricultural tariffs is a controversial prospect in India, the world's largest producer of milk with millions of small-scale rural farmers dependent on the sector.

Luxon said he was undeterred by the challenge and confirmed talks would start with a fresh slate, beginning next month.

"We wouldn't have kicked this off if we weren't confident that we can actually work incredibly hard together to get ourselves to a good place," Luxon said.

Earlier speaking to RNZ, trade expert Biswajit Dhar, based in Delhi, urged New Zealand to pause talk on dairy and instead pursue an interim deal focused on other sectors.

"It's really important for us to... identify other areas, not get stuck with this problem with the dairy sector and go beyond that."

Both Luxon and McClay declined to say whether they would compromise on dairy, saying the detail would be left to the negotiators.

"We'll get the very best deal that we can for all New Zealanders," McClay said.

'We're going to have a lot of fun' - Luxon

En route to Delhi, Luxon sought to rally the troops aboard the 757, telling the delegation: "We're going to get a lot of stuff done, but we're going to have a lot of fun doing it."

Luxon was greeted at New Delhi's Palam Airforce Base by one of India's junior ministers.

Together they inspected a guard of honour, before walking over the tarmac to watch a group of traditional folk dancers while blaring music competed with background plane noise.

Luxon was then whisked away in a waiting limousine to begin a jam-packed programme. The route to his hotel was dotted with welcome banners every 100 or so metres, as many as 40 in total, each one featuring the prime minister's grinning profile.

First on Luxon's agenda was a brief sit-down with India's Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Jaishankar is consider one of India's most powerful Cabinet ministers, credited for maintaining stable relations with China during his tenure.

In brief opening remarks before media, Luxon thanked Jaishankar for his "generous hospitality" and said India was a country had had huge admiration for.

He described his delegation as "the largest ever to accompany a prime minister abroad". Officials have previously described it as "one of the largest".

Luxon will hold talks with India's prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening NZT. Overnight, he will then deliver the opening speech at the Raisina Dialogue, a prestigious geopolitics conference.

Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University David Capie said it was vital New Zealand invested in its relationship with India, the world's most populous country and a fast-growing economy.

"India's becoming a much more consequential global actor, and so New Zealand wants to...better understand what its interests and priorities are."

That was even more important given the "extraordinary transformation" in power across the globe, Capie said.

'Premature' to discuss joining 'Coalition of the Willing' - Luxon

The media conference was also the first time Luxon had addressed reporters since he joined "Coalition of the Willing" talks on Saturday evening.

He took part in the leaders' call in the hours before catching a commercial flight to Singapore where he joined his delegation on the 757 on to New Delhi.

Luxon said the conversation was fixated on the diplomatic efforts going into securing a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.

"The ball is now in the court of Russia...what we've seen is a whole bunch of vacillation...and it's up to them to actually step up and actually reciprocate."

Luxon said New Zealand had yet to receive any specific requests and would take any decisions through a full Cabinet process.

"Any decision around any formal engagement, it's all too premature. There is no peace plan today, and until there is one, there's no ask on us."

The virtual call was convened by British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, with about 30 countries taking part in the discussion over how to secure peace in Ukraine.

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