Congress highlights historical ties as Modi elevates India-New Zealand relations to strategic partnership
The Congress party on Saturday placed the recent upgrade in India-New Zealand ties in historical context, recalling New Zealand's role in developing India's dairy sector and establishing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The statement came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon announced a strategic partnership between the two nations.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh noted that Modi's visit 'brings back memories of a remarkable man who was key to transforming India-New Zealand relations.' He referred to former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, who served from 1984 to 1989. Lange chose India for his first overseas visit after assuming office and developed a warm relationship with then Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
'It was David Lange who revived the bilateral relationship that had been productive in the 1950s, with New Zealand assisting in developing India’s dairy industry and also in establishing AIIMS in New Delhi,' Ramesh said in a post on X. He also recalled that Verghese Kurien, the architect of India's White Revolution, visited New Zealand on a government fellowship in 1952-53, which influenced his work. Bilateral ties cooled during the 1960s and 1970s before Lange sought to rebuild them in 1984.
Ramesh also noted that Lange appointed mountaineer Edmund Hillary as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India, and roads in New Delhi's diplomatic enclave honour both Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
Earlier on Saturday, Modi and Luxon announced the elevation of ties to a strategic partnership, agreed on a roadmap for expanding cooperation, and set a target of doubling bilateral trade in goods and services to ₹35,000 crore by 2030. The two sides also unveiled a framework for Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation, a reciprocal logistics support pact between their armed forces, and agreed to institute a maritime security dialogue.
