Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has spoken of his meeting with Indian leader Narendra Modi in Laos, saying the pair had talked of “deepening up the trade relationship” between the nations.
And he has also served up a blunt rebuttal when asked about a new poll which shows a dip in support for his National Party.
Luxon is in Vientiane, Laos for the East Asia Summit, and has met with a number of world leaders who have also travelled to the summit.
That included with Modi – who has been in power in India for the past decade.
Luxon described the relationship between the two nations as being in “good shape”.
“It was a very good bilateral meaning.”
He said the relationship should be broader and deeper.
The pair discussed “deepening up the trade relationship” as well as other topics like space and agri-tech.
Luxon confirmed the pair had discussed “advancing” their trade relationship.
Asked if he thought a trade deal would happen this term, Luxon said he was hopeful.
Luxon said Nodi was interested in trade with New Zealand.
They had a bi-lateral today and Modi had invited Luxon to India in the New Year.
The Prime Minister initially wanted to travel to India this year – a pledge he made on the election campaign – but timing issues, including a large number of international events over the coming months, got in the way.
Earlier, upon entering the room where the bilateral was being hosted (and where Modi was sitting patiently waiting), Luxon said, “Nice to meet you, thank you for making time for us today.
“We really appreciate, it is lovely to meet you in person. Thank you so much,” he said before taking a photo shaking Modi’s hand.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and India's Narendra Modi meet for the first time on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Laos. Photo / Jamie Ensor
In his opening comments captured by media, Modi expressed his pleasure at finally meeting Luxon in person.
“This is our first in-person meeting, so I am very happy to see you. We spoke to each other in July on the phone, this was after [the Indian] elections. But I am very happy to have this opportunity of seeing you today and discussing some important issues.”
A statement released by the Indian Government following the bilateral said a number of topics, like trade, investment, security, renewable energy, education, agri-tech, sports, tourism, space and people-to-people ties, were discussed.
“[The Prime Ministers] noted that frequent high-level contacts have imparted a strong momentum to bilateral relations. In this context, they recalled the recent visit of the President of India to New Zealand, which was a huge success.
“The Prime Ministers renewed their commitment to further strengthen cooperation in multilateral fora and reiterated their commitment to take the India-New Zealand relationship to greater heights.
“Prime Minister [Modi] extended an invitation to Prime Minister Luxon to visit India on mutually convenient dates, which he accepted.”
At a media standup earlier on Thursday, Luxon said he would be focused on building a strong rapport with Modi and dampened down any expectations that the meeting may kickstart any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
“There’ll be a range of topics to discuss and there’ll be areas of disagreement and real challenge. But the point is, first and foremost, I want the relationship in place, which is what we’ve been working hard at over the last 10 months.
“Once we have a foundation of a relationship, then we can start to progress the more transactional conversations around trade and also around security.”
During last year’s election campaign, Luxon promised to secure a deal this term. That has been called a highly ambitious goal given India’s protectionist stance on agriculture and that the last round of formal negotiations were held nearly 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, Luxon was asked at the press conference in Laos about a range of issues back home in New Zealand.
Luxon said the economy needed to be rebuilt and law and order needed to be restored.
“We have to build an opportunity society.
“The exciting part is how do we grow this great country of ours.”
Luxon said it had been a tough time for New Zealand, that Kiwis were “really struggling” but - almost one year on from the election - there were “green shoots.
He was also asked about issues facing the New Zealand Defence Force.
In a week where one of its few commissioned naval ships sunk while surveying Samoan coastline, the Prime Minister said the Navy and Army had new leaders among other leaders, and the PM had asked them to create a “defence capability plan.”
The recent ship sinking would now have to be factored into that plan.
The PM was also asked about the just-released Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll which showed the lowest support for National in 15 months and the highest for Labour in 16 months when compared to the group’s previous polls.
Luxon said “whether we go up or down in polls, I have the same position, I just don’t care.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
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