{"id":129169,"date":"2026-07-11T11:14:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T06:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=129169"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T06:14:43","slug":"new-zealand-india-strike-milestone-strategic-partnership-encompassing-defence-and-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129169\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand, India strike &#8216;milestone&#8217; strategic partnership encompassing defence and security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web desk(National Times)- New Zealand and India announced on Saturday a \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d encompassing defence and security, during a landmark visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prime Minister Christopher Luxon feted his guest with an indigenous Maori welcome and guard of honour, seeking to expand relations after signing a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1995502\">free-trade pact<\/a>&nbsp;in April that he has touted as an economic boon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Modi\u2019s visit, at the tail end of a July 6-11 tour that has also taken him to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2013570\">Indonesia<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2014097\">Australia<\/a>, came in the aftermath of China\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2013540\/china-test-fires-strategic-missile-in-pacific-ocean\">test-fire<\/a>&nbsp;of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, stirring unease in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was the first visit to New Zealand by an Indian prime minister in 40 years, a sign of Delhi\u2019s deeper engagement at a time of strengthened Chinese diplomatic and military presence in the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Modi described the creation of the strategic partnership as a \u201cmilestone\u201d that would inspire greater energy and confidence, as he was hosted by the New Zealand leader at Government House in Auckland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur firm belief in democratic values makes us natural partners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pact covers tighter defence cooperation, with naval exercises, as well as stronger ties in trade, diplomacy, culture, sport and science, the two countries said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their nations have a shared interest in a \u201cfree, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific\u201d, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two countries \u201cquickly canvassed\u201d the Chinese missile test, Luxon told reporters in a briefing after the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He skirted a question about whether closer New Zealand-India ties would curb Beijing\u2019s ambitions in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are a small trading nation. We are a maritime nation. We need to have as many relationships as we possibly can with partners around the world that are like-minded, and some of those are around defence, and some of those around trade, some around both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New Zealand supported a growing \u201cmulti-lattice\u201d of arrangements in defence and trade emerging between countries in the region, he said, adding: \u201cThat\u2019s how we drive prosperity through security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2014582\/new-zealand-india-strike-milestone-strategic-partnership-encompassing-defence-and-security#outright-racism\"><\/a>\u2018Outright racism\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The star event for the Indian leader\u2019s visit is expected to be his appearance before an estimated 10,000 or more supporters from the country\u2019s 300,000-strong Indian diaspora at a community event in Auckland\u2019s Spark Arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two days earlier, a similar event in Melbourne, Australia, attracted nearly 30,000 adoring Modi fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luxon, who faces New Zealand general elections in November, has been promoting the jobs and economic benefits of the free trade deal with India, which is awaiting parliamentary approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the trade agreement has faced pushback from some quarters in New Zealand, in particular over its provisions for easier immigration and visa access to Indian students and workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers in the populist New Zealand First party, part of Luxon\u2019s governing coalition, railed against parts of the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t care how much criticism we get, I am just never going to agree with a butter chicken tsunami coming to New Zealand,\u201d government minister Shane Jones told a local radio show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Indian community leader accused Jones of \u201coutright racism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A prominent evangelical preacher went further when he heard Indian leader Modi would soon be arriving on New Zealand\u2019s shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2014582\/new-zealand-india-strike-milestone-strategic-partnership-encompassing-defence-and-security#winning-partnership\"><\/a>\u2018Winning partnership\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Self-proclaimed \u201capostle\u201d Brian Tamaki accused Modi of vilifying Christians in India \u2014 and suggested New Zealanders should retaliate in kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLet\u2019s purge New Zealand of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims,\u201d Tamaki said on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile we\u2019re at it, if they\u2019re burning churches down, why don\u2019t we burn mosques and their temples down? Tit for tat,\u201d he said, in comments condemned by New Zealand\u2019s race relations commissioner as \u201cutterly appalling\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Luxon has been steadfast in promoting Modi\u2019s visit, citing his position as leader of a major economy with the world\u2019s largest population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s just a huge opportunity for New Zealand to get in on the ground floor of what will be a very exciting next 50 years of growth in India,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Web desk(National Times)- New Zealand and India announced on Saturday a \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d encompassing defence and security, during a landmark visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon feted his guest with an indigenous Maori welcome and guard of honour, seeking to expand relations after signing a&nbsp;free-trade pact&nbsp;in April that he has touted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Zealand, India strike &#039;milestone&#039; strategic partnership encompassing defence and security - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129169\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Zealand, India strike &#039;milestone&#039; strategic partnership encompassing defence and security - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web desk(National Times)- New Zealand and India announced on Saturday a \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d encompassing defence and security, during a landmark visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 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