May 02: A delegation led by the Commerce Secretary, Shri Sunil Barthwal held several constructive and outcome-oriented meetings in New Zealand from 26-27 April 2024 to work on ways to deepen the existing bilateral relations. These meetings were held with the Minister for Trade of New Zealand Hon. Todd McClay, Acting Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, Mr. Brook Barrington, the India-New Zealand Business Council (INZBC), and the 11th India – New Zealand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting.
Both sides acknowledged the existing huge potential in both economies and mutual trade complementarities, there is a substantial potential to increase trade and people-to-people contacts. These meetings had focused discussions on several key areas aimed at promoting bilateral trade and cooperation, marking a pivotal moment in strengthening economic ties and fostering collaboration between the two nations, building upon the existing close ties through people-to-people and business contacts.
The services sector and enhancing its scale for bilateral trade was given special focus during the discussions held at various levels which revealed great interest from both sides for increasing business-to-business as well as people-to-people contacts and to work on the skill gaps and how the same can be strengthened through capacity building and improving the ease of mobility. It touched upon areas such as the hospitality sector including adventure tourism, nursing, telemedicine, education, air connectivity, Joint R&D (wherever feasible), startups, etc.
Collaboration in the area of pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector was discussed at length, including the adoption of fast-tracking of regulatory processes and quality assessment of manufacturing facilities using, as appropriate, the inspection reports of comparable overseas regulators. Greater sourcing of medicines from India and cooperation in the medical device sector was also discussed.
Both parties briefly explored opportunities for collaboration in digital trade, meeting Nationally Determined Contributions, cross border payment systems, among others. Discussions also encompassed cooperative engagement within platforms such as G20, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and other plurilateral and multi-lateral associations and how to address imperative economic challenges and opportunities. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to uphold a rules-based international trading system.
Overall, it was a common understanding that the existing co-operation can be taken forward with continuous dialogue. Hence, both sides committed to holding regular meetings at all levels to sort out issues and work on collaborative and cooperative activities in existing as well as areas that remain unexplored.
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