Overview

• FTA negotiations launched in March have been hailed as a “breakthrough” but remain without a signing timeline due to disagreements over dairy tariffs
• New Zealand offers to apply its dairy-industry expertise in pilot projects aimed at boosting India’s milk productivity to meet a projected 35% increase in food demand over the next 35 years
• The newly signed Defense Cooperation Arrangement paves the way for closer military links, including joint roles in Combined Task Force 150 to secure Indian Ocean trade routes and counter maritime threats
• Under its foreign policy reset, Wellington has elevated India as a “geopolitical giant” and supports New Delhi’s bid for a permanent seat on a reformed UN Security Council
• Bilateral trade reached $1.7 billion in 2023–24 and both governments are eyeing expanded cooperation in agriculture, renewable energy, education and tourism