11th India – New Zealand Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting held in New Zealand

 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 11^th 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 the 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 meetings addressed bilateral trade matters of mutual interest, including issues related to market access, non-tariff barriers (NTBs), and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on products like grapes, okra and mangoes, Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in Organic products, simplified homologation including through mutual recognition of comparable domestic standards for vehicles, etc. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to resolve these issues through constructive dialogue and cooperation under the existing mechanism of JTC.

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 hospitality sector including adventure tourism, nursing, tele-medicine, education, air connectivity, Joint R&D (wherever feasible), startups, etc.

Both parties briefly explored opportunities for collaboration in digital trade, meeting Nationally Determined Contributions, cross border payment systems, among others. Discussions also encompassed co-operative 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 the sides committed to hold regular meetings at all levels to sort out issues and work on collaborative and co-operative activities in exiting as well as areas which remain unexplored.