India New Zealand Sign Bilateral Custom Cooperation Agreement

To ease bilateral trade, India and New Zealand signed a bilateral Customs Cooperation Arrangement agreement. The agreement was signed in Wellington on 8 August 2024 during President Droupadi Murmu's two-day official visit to New Zealand.

President Murmu is visiting three nations: Fiji, New Zealand, and Timor Leste. On her first leg of the visit, she visited Fiji, and on her second leg, she visited New Zealand on 8 and 9 August. 

Highlights of President Murmu's Visit to New Zealand 

Before President Droupadi Murmu’s visit, President Pranab Mukherjee was the last Indian president to visit New Zealand. President Pranab Mukhejee visited New Zealand in May 2016.

• President Murmu was received with a traditional Maori ceremonial welcome in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. 
• The Maoris are the indigenous people of New Zealand, and they constituted the largest population of the country before the arrival of the European settlers.
• She was formally received by New Zealand's Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro in Wellington. 
• New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, also met the president.
• Both leaders discussed issues of mutual interest and agreed to exchange best practices in traditional medicine through the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
• The president addressed the New Zealand International Education Conference in Wellington, and this year, India was the Guest of Honour.

India-New Zealand Relationships 

• India shares a cordial relationship with New Zealand. In 1950, India established a Trade Mission in New Zealand, which was later upgraded to a High Commission.
• According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India is New Zealand 15th largest trading partner, with a value of US$1.56 billion as of June 2023. 
• India mainly imports wool and edible fruit & nuts and forestry products from New Zealand.
• Indian exports to New Zealand mostly consist of precious metals and gems, textiles and motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals and non-knitted apparel and accessories.

About New Zealand 

• New Zealand is an archipelago which is situated in the South Pacific Ocean.
• It is one of the remotest inhabited areas on Earth.
• It is the only country where the flightless bird Kiwi is found.
• The first person in the world to climb Mount Everest in 1953 Edmund Hillary, was from New Zealand.
• The Indigenous population of New Zealand are Maoris.
• New Zealand gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 and it is part of the Commonwealth.
• The United Kingdom’s Monarch is the Head of State of New Zealand and is represented by the Governor General.

Capital: Wellington

Currency: New Zealand Dollar

Head of State: United Kingdom Monarch King Charles III

Prime Minister: Christopher Luxon