NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth, met New Zealand Defence Ministry's Head of International Branch, Kathleen Pearce, in New Delhi on Monday and reaffirmed commitment to deepen cooperation across key strategic domains.
Sharing the details of their meeting in a post on X, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, "Ms Kathleen Pearce, Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand and Mr Patrick John Rata, NZ High Commissioner called on Raksha Rajya Mantri @SethSanjayMPtoday. The meeting reaffirmed strong defence ties & commitment to deepen cooperation across key strategic domains."
Also on Monday, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh met Kathleen Pearce.
In a post on X, the MoD said, "Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh met Ms Kathleen Pearce, Head of International Branch, Ministry of Defence, New Zealand and NZ High Commissioner Mr Patrick John Rata in New Delhi today. Both sides welcomed the launch of strategic dialogue & agreed to deepen #defenceties."
The commitment towards defence cooperation comes at the heels of the recently held second round of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Negotiations, which concluded in New Delhi, that significant advancements in multiple areas, including trade in goods and services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and economic cooperation.
According to a release by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, discussions were marked by mutual interest in achieving early convergence on several texts.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a balanced, comprehensive, and forward-looking agreement.
The Second Round of negotiations for the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded successfully on July 25 in New Delhi, further advancing the shared objective of strengthening bilateral trade and economic partnerships.
India and New Zealand have historically shared close and cordial ties. Similarities such as membership of the Commonwealth, common law practices and pursuing shared aspirations of achieving economic development and prosperity through democratic governance systems for diverse communities in both countries provide an excellent backdrop for deepening the friendly ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.