India and New Zealand will hold the next round of in-person negotiations for a proposed trade deal in New Delhi between October 13 and 14, while continuing discussions through inter-sessional engagements, the commerce ministry said in a statement on September 19.
This follows the third round of talks, held from September 15 to 19 in Queenstown, New Zealand, after which several chapters were concluded and significant progress was achieved in other key domains.
"The discussions reaffirmed the shared commitment of both nations to strengthen economic ties and work towards the early conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial agreement," the statement said.
According to the statement, the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to further boost trade flows, promote investment linkages, strengthen supply chain resilience, and create a predictable framework for businesses in both countries.
Negotiations for the FTA were formally resumed on March 16, 2025, during the meeting between Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment, Todd McClay.
India and New Zealand began negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment. However, after nine rounds of discussions, the talks stalled in 2015.
India’s bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand stood at $1.3 billion in 2024–25, a growth of nearly 49 percent over the previous year.
India’s major exports to New Zealand include pharmaceuticals, machinery, precious metals and stones, textiles, vehicles, and apparel, it imports wool, iron and steel, aluminium, fruits and nuts, wood pulp, among others from Wellington.
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