INDIA AND NEW ZEALAND SIGN 18 PACTS DURING MODI VISIT

India and New Zealand elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, according to Reuters and Indian media. The visit produced 18 agreements across defence, trade, security and other areas, with the two governments framing the package as a "Roadmap to 2030."

Modi met New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during India's first prime ministerial visit to New Zealand in 40 years. The two leaders described the relationship as increasingly important to Indo-Pacific stability, trade diversification and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

The agreements included a new defence cooperation arrangement and commitments to expand maritime safety cooperation, including a reciprocal logistics support pact between the Indian Navy and the New Zealand Defence Force. Indian reporting said the 18 outcomes covered defence, trade and security, with both governments seeking to deepen coordination through 2030.

The two sides also set a target to double bilateral trade in goods and services by 2030, a goal Indian officials valued at about 35,000 crore rupees, or roughly 7 billion New Zealand dollars. Military cooperation is expected to expand through joint exercises, unit visits, personnel exchanges and high-level defence dialogues.

The visit follows New Zealand and India signing a free trade agreement in April 2026, according to public New Zealand trade information and earlier reporting. That agreement has not yet come into effect, but it is central to the wider effort to expand bilateral trade, investment and market access.

The visit took place as India looks to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific, following Modi's recent engagements with Indonesia and Australia. The Auckland meeting also follows New Zealand's own recent outreach to major Asian economies, including trade and diplomatic engagement with China and India.

The partnership also has a domestic dimension in New Zealand, where the Indian diaspora is a significant part of the relationship. Modi was scheduled to address the Indian community in Auckland during the visit. Both leaders reaffirmed a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and to safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity and the rules-based international order.

The immediate questions are how quickly the two governments implement the Roadmap to 2030, whether the free trade agreement enters force without significant political friction, and how far defence and maritime cooperation expands in the Indo-Pacific. The agreements give both countries a formal framework, but the practical test will be whether the partnership produces measurable trade, security and mobility outcomes.

Fact-check date: 11 July 2026
Article type: News
Sources: Reuters, Times of India, The Print, The Tribune, New Zealand and Indian government trade information