Bilateral trade between India and New Zealand may be small currently, but the relationship has tremendous scope to grow.
The two countries are currently negotiating a free-trade deal, the New Zealand-India Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, and have willingness for freer trade at a time when other economies do not.
Trade between the two economies currently sits between $NZ3 billion to $NZ3.5 billion annually, but there is a lot of scope for it to grow in areas like pharmaceuticals, textiles, food, chemicals. In services, volumes are expected to rise in education, information technology, telecommunications and tourism.
In an increasingly fractious world battling the threat of tariffs to global trade, India and New Zealand are looking to forge a lasting partnership. This augurs well for growth, economic efficiency, and will hopefully culminate into a long runway for businesses on both the sides, especially those with global ambitions.
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In March, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spent five days in India, in a trip that was met with great enthusiasm on both the sides.
A large delegation of New Zealand businesses, government officials, media, and community members met their Indian counterparts in a variety of settings, with a focus on deepening the ties between the two great democracies.
The bond between leaders was particularly noteworthy and received a great deal of media attention over the course of the trip.
ANZ is proud to have been associated with this landmark visit of New Zealand's Prime Minister to India, and is committed to fostering India and New Zealand economic ties.
As a bank, we hope the trade negotiations yield a successful trade deal that will yield benefits for the years to come.
Dhiraj Nim is an Economist at ANZ
