India and New Zealand Strengthen Defence and Maritime Cooperation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the growing defence and security cooperation between India and New Zealand reflects the "deep strategic trust" between the two countries. Speaking at a gala lunch hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland, Modi announced that the two sides had agreed to strengthen maritime cooperation, institutionalise defence engagement, and expand collaboration on counter-terrorism and transnational crime.
"Our growing cooperation in defence and security is a symbol of our deep strategic trust. With the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed last year, a strong structure for our cooperation has been established. Today, we have reached an agreement on a framework for maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Mutual coordination between us will increase through bilateral naval exercises, logistics support, and cooperation in hydrography," PM Modi said.
Key Agreements and Institutionalised Engagement
According to the India-New Zealand Joint Statement, the two prime ministers welcomed progress in implementing the 2025 Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation and agreed to institutionalise regular structured engagement between their defence ministries and armed services. The leaders also welcomed cooperation under Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) in 2025, where New Zealand served as Commander and India as Deputy Commander, supporting international efforts to deter narcotics smuggling, terrorism, and other illicit maritime activities in the Middle East and the Western Indian Ocean.
Recognising their shared interests as maritime nations committed to a free, open, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific, the two sides concluded a Maritime Cooperation Arrangement (MCA), an Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused on the maritime domain. They also welcomed bilateral naval exercises under the MCA.
Maritime Security Dialogue and Counter-Terrorism Collaboration
The Joint Statement said India welcomed New Zealand's nomination of Maritime Security as its priority pillar under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, while both countries agreed to establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue to strengthen cooperation, coordination, and information sharing. The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to deepen collaboration on counter-terrorism, cyber security, and other emerging security challenges through bilateral, regional, and multilateral mechanisms.
In addition, India and New Zealand agreed to strengthen practical law enforcement cooperation to combat transnational organised crime, including illicit drug trafficking, financial crime, cyber-enabled crime, terrorism-related offences, people smuggling, and trafficking in persons. They also agreed to work towards the early formalisation of counter-narcotics and broader law enforcement cooperation arrangements between their respective agencies.
First Indian PM Visit in Four Decades Elevates Ties to Strategic Partnership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day official visit to New Zealand from July 10-11 at the invitation of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. The visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in four decades, saw the two countries elevate bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopt a Roadmap to 2030 to deepen cooperation across defence, trade, technology, security, and people-to-people ties.
