India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Auckland tomorrow for a two-day visit, the first by an Indian leader in 40 years.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will host Modi during a programme expected to include bilateral talks and a business forum, with discussions covering trade, investment, education, technology, tourism, maritime security and wider regional issues.
The visit comes just months after signing of the India Free Trade Agreement, which remains one of the coalition Government’s most debated policies. Foreign Minister Winston Peters who has opposed the FTA will not be part of the visit, as he is travelling to Singapore and Japan.
The timing has attracted attention because NZ First has consistently opposed the agreement. University of Otago political scientist Robert Patman described it as “relatively unusual” for a Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to fundamentally disagree on a major trade agreement, while noting Peters’ engagements in Singapore and Japan were important foreign policy commitments.
Patman noted Peters has “shown no signs” of curbing his opposition to the FTA, and probably did not want to do anything that would suggest he is “watering down his opposition to placate the support of the National Party”. Peters’ office said the schedule was planned months in advance and was independent of Modi’s visit. Luxon dismissed suggestions the timing was unusual, describing it as a “leader-level visit” and saying it was “quite normal” for the Foreign Minister to be overseas.
Peters, along with NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones, has been vocal in his opposition to the FTA. Jones’ “butter chicken tsunami” comment during an interview with RCR became a flashpoint in the wider debate over immigration, drawing both criticism and support as New Zealanders argued over the likely impact of the agreement’s migration provisions. Peters has more recently accused National of “covertly” tightening immigration settings for Indian nationals, saying the move shows the Government knew the FTA could open wider migration pathways than had been admitted. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has called Peters’ claim “misinformation” and warned his stance risked undermining relations with India.
The FTA has remained controversial since it was signed in April. Critics have questioned the agreement’s immigration and labour mobility provisions, limited market access for key exports such as dairy, foreign investment commitments, labour market impacts, sovereignty implications and provisions relating to central bank digital currencies.
In analysis for RCR, commentator Joshua Riley concluded it “runs counter to New Zealand’s economic and immigration interests and surrenders some aspects of national sovereignty,” while Aliquid Melius director John Alcock warned the CBDC provisions deserved far greater scrutiny, saying “India is running one of the largest CBDC pilots in the world. CBDCs will hand governments unprecedented visibility and control over all transactions while gradually eliminating physical cash.”
While the agreement has been signed, it has not yet completed New Zealand’s legislative process. Submissions and select committee hearings on the FTA itself have taken place and an India Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill is now before the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.
Read more at 1News, RNZ, Joshua Riley on X and on the RCR blog. See also RCR’s overview of the FTA with links to the full agreement and listen or watch RCR’s interviews with Rt Hon Winston Peters, Joshua Riley and John Alcock. See also MFAT website for a timeline of next steps.
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