Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The political fallout over Foreign Minister Winston Peters' comments on the dispute between New Delhi and Ottawa over the 2023 murder of a Sikh separatist in Canada has overshadowed a three-day trip to India that appears to have made some progress in the commercial aviation space.
High-level discussions on the deputy prime minister's trip to New Delhi and Ahmedabad, Gujarat, were also held on cooperation in the political, economic, security and cultural sphere.
An enhanced air services agreement between the two countries came into force during Peters' visit, which aims to make code-sharing on flights between New Zealand and India simpler.
"While it is ultimately a commercial decision for our national carriers, we are confident that direct flights between New Zealand and India are within sight in the next couple of years," Peters said. "Being able to fly directly from Auckland to New Delhi would be a game-changer for the cultural, people-to-people and commercial ties between our countries."
Broadly speaking, Peters said the trip to India was a success, describing it as "an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level".
"New Zealand and India are fellow democracies which, working with like-minded partners such as Australia and Japan, wish to see an Indo-Pacific characterised by respect for the rule of law, freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of disputes.
"India's importance to New Zealand's society, economy and security is growing.
"The Indian diaspora in New Zealand numbers 300,000 and India is our second-largest source of international students and largest source of skilled migrants."
During the 11-13 March visit, Peters held discussions with his Indian foreign affairs counterpart, S. Jaishankar, Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Bhupendra Patel, chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Peters also visited India's new parliamentary complex, where around 20,000kg of New Zealand wool was used to make carpets for the interior.
He attended a women's Indian Premier League match to see leading New Zealand cricketers Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine in action.
"Minister Jaishankar and I agreed to work together to unlock more opportunities and achieve a step-up in the relationship between New Zealand and India," Peters said.
"Further high-level, political visits in both directions during 2024 will be a crucial part of this process."
Jaishankar welcomed New Zealand joining the international solar alliance, calling the meeting "warm and productive".
"We agreed on enhancing our political, trade, economic, security, connectivity, mobility, education and people-to-people ties," Jaishankar said. "We also discussed cooperation in the Commonwealth and the United National Security Council reforms."
Peters is on a week-long trip to Asia, visiting Jakarta and Singapore after leaving India on his way back to New Zealand.