President Droupadi Murmu arrives in New Zealand to boost bilateral ties

President Droupadi Murmu arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday on the second leg of her three-nation tour during which she will meet Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and other senior ministers as India seeks to give further impetus to the bilateral ties.

Murmu was accorded a warm welcome by Todd McClay, Minister of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry, Hunting and Fishing and Associate Foreign Affairs, as she arrived in New Zealand, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a post on X.

"A warm welcome to the Hon'ble @rashtrapatibhvn Smt. Droupadi Murmu as she arrived in New Zealand today. Warmly received by Minister @toddmcclaymp and HC Neeta Bhushan at Auckland," it said.

 

Taking to X, McClay said it was an honour to welcome President Murmu to New Zealand.

"This visit is one of many recent government engagements to deepen our relationship & boost our strong people-to-people & cultural links," he said.

Murmu arrived in New Zealand after concluding her State Visit to Fiji, where she held wide-ranging discussions with the country's top leadership to build upon the historic ties and strengthen the partnership between the two nations.

The president is in New Zealand at the invitation of the Governor-General.

This is a Presidential visit to New Zealand after eight years. Besides bilateral meetings with Governor-General Kiro, President Murmu will also meet Prime Minister Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters.

Murmu will also attend a community reception in Auckland, where she will interact with the Indian diaspora and Friends of India.

The Indian diaspora in New Zealand is about 300,000-strong, out of a total population of 5 million. They are very well integrated into New Zealand society and are a living bridge between the two countries.

According to MEA, New Zealand has put India as a special focus country for their bilateral relations. New Zealand recognises India as a key partner in defence and security and in terms of overall bilateral trade, investment, people-to-people contact, etc. Therefore, this visit will itself be highly significant.

"Education plays a big part in our bilateral relations. We are the country with the second largest number of students in New Zealand, about 8,000 Indian students study there, and Rashtrapati ji will therefore be addressing an International Education Conference in Wellington, where India is the Guest of Honor. This underscores the significance of the educational relationship where New Zealand is looking to work with India and collaborate with our education system and our educational institutions apart from the students that we send there," it said.

From New Zealand, the president will travel to Timor-Leste.