India and New Zealand are taking steps to create strategic trust and commercial connections between the two countries, says Prime Minister Luxon
Highlighting the extraordinary achievements by India in the last decade, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said that India was at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region’s exciting economic future.

He was addressing the 10th edition of the Raisina Dialogue which he inaugurated along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on March 17, 2025.

The New Zealand Prime Minister described the Indo-Pacific as the world’s most economically dynamic region, and said it would represent two-thirds of global economic growth over the coming years. He remarked that India was at the heart of the region’s exciting economic future, offering massive opportunities for every country in the Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister Luxon highlighted the extraordinary achievements by India in the last decade. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, its economy expanded by 50%; it has eliminated poverty; is at the cutting edge of tech; and became the first country to land on the moon’s South Pole, he stated.

Referring to his discussions with Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day, Prime Minister Luxon said India and New Zealand had decided to deepen ties through greater defence interactions, improved air connectivity, expanded scientific collaborations and enhanced people-to-people exchanges and negotiating a free trade agreement. “This will ensure that we create strategic trust and commercial connections between the two countries,” he said.

He also spoke about the technological transformation of economies and societies. “AI will have an impact across the whole economy, not just in one or two sectors, transforming the way we work, study and entertain ourselves. This presents risks that will need to be managed,” he pointed out.

Addressing the gathering, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the world was undergoing churn. “We cannot rely on old assumptions. We need new ideas, and Raisina Dialogue has provided us with that forum,” he pointed out.

The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the international community.

The three-day event, which runs till March 19, 2025, will be joined by over 3500 participants from about 125 countries in person, according to information shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday (March 16, 2025).

Decision makers and thought leaders of the world will engage each other across conversations in various formats, over six thematic pillars: 
(i) Politics Interrupted: Shifting Sands and Rising Tides
(ii) Resolving the Green Trilemma: Who, Where, & How
(iii) Digital Planet: Agents, Agencies and Absences
(iv) Militant Mercantilism: Trade, Supply Chains & the Exchange Rate Addiction
(v) The Tiger’s Tale: Rewriting Development with a New Plan
(vi) Investing in Peace: Drivers, Institutions, & Leadership