New Zealand PM Backs India Free Trade Agreement, Hails Jobs And Growth Amid Coalition Dissent

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday (27 December) strongly endorsed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, calling it a milestone for his government even as sharp differences surfaced within his ruling coalition over the pact, the Hindustan Times reported.

Luxon framed the agreement as part of his administration’s broader economic agenda, saying it was about “Fixing the basics. building the future.”

He said the government had fulfilled a key promise, noting, “We said we’d secure a Free Trade Agreement with India in our first term, and we’ve delivered.”

Highlighting its economic potential, the prime minister said the deal would generate “more jobs, higher incomes and more exports by opening the door to 1.4 billion Indian consumers.”

The FTA, announced earlier this week after talks between Luxon and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to significantly deepen economic ties.

Both leaders said the agreement could double bilateral trade within five years and lead to investments worth $20 billion in India over the next 15 years.

Negotiations began in March, with the two sides describing the pact as a reflection of their “shared ambition and political will to further deepen ties”.

However, the deal has exposed fault lines within New Zealand’s coalition government.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who leads the New Zealand First party, criticised the agreement as “neither free nor fair” and said he had conveyed his concerns to external affairs minister S Jaishankar, for whom he expressed “utmost respect”.

Peters argued the pact was rushed and tilted against New Zealand’s interests. “New Zealand First urged its coalition partner not to rush into concluding a low-quality deal with India,” he said, alleging that “National preferred doing a quick, low-quality deal over doing the hard work necessary to get a fair deal”.

He also said the FTA excluded key dairy products, calling it “impossible to defend to our rural communities”, and raised concerns over migration provisions, arguing the deal “fails that test” of protecting domestic employment.

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