Jaishankar, New Zealand FM hold talks, vow to deepen ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday met New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Trade Minister David Parker and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between two countries. They also exchanged views on Indo-Pacific, multilateralism, Commonwealth and counter-terrorism.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held talks with his counterpart from New Zealand and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in key sectors such as trade, defence and security.

During their deliberations, Jaishankar and New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters emphasized the importance of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law including UNCLOS for peace and stability in the region, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

"Pleased to receive Deputy PM & FM @winstonpeters and Trade Minister @DavidParkerMP of New Zealand. Discussed stepping up bilateral cooperation. Also exchanged views on Indo-Pacific, multilateralism, Commonwealth, and counter-terrorism," tweeted Jaishankar

Peters arrived in India on Tuesday for a four-day visit. He visited Rajghat to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.

Peters, accompanied by Trade Minister David Parker and a business delegation, is visiting India from February 25-28.

Peters and Jaishankar reviewed the state of bilateral relations and discussed steps to intensify political, economic, defence, security and people to people relations, the statement said.

The meeting was followed by a working dinner at Hyderabad House, which was joined by the trade minister, who also met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

Parker also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday.

He will be meeting Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Thursday.

The New Zealand delegation will also be visiting Mumbai and interacting with Indian industries.

The New Zealand Deputy PM had released the New strategic paper "India 2025- Investing in the relationship", which is a continuation of the New Zealand Inc.India Strategy 2011, prior to his visit to India.

Jaishankar stated that the paper is reflective of the desire to strengthen bilateral ties, a mutually shared objective.

India thanked New Zealand for its support for Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) and on the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to promote cooperation on solar energy and climate action, the MEA said.

Both sides exchanged views on their respective approaches in the Indo-Pacific region, and agreed to work together in East Asia Summit and relevant forums.

They also agreed that a stable international trading environment is essential and agreed to constructively engage in WTO, the MEA said.

New Zealand conveyed support for India's permanent membership of UN Security Council, it said.

The growing Indian diaspora and students in New Zealand form a strong link between the two nations, contributing positively to the close partnership between the two countries, the MEA said.

(PTI report)