Nearly a decade on, New Zealand keen to restart FTA talks

Negotiations began 14 years ago, stalled after 10 rounds

- SHREYA NANDI

New Zealand has expressed a keen interest in restarting free-trade agreement (FTA) talks with India to enhance bilateral trade ties, said people privy to the development.

Although India is also keen on signing an FTA with New Zealand, it is still considering certain factors, as it is working on a revamped trade strategy and has almost finalised standard operating procedures for negotiating trade deals, one of the persons cited above told Business Standard.

The two countries entered into FTA negotiations 14 years ago, but talks stalled after 10 rounds of discussions, and no formal round of negotiations has been held since February 2015.

While thorny issues between New Delhi and Wellington delayed the pact's finalisation a decade ago, talks also slowed as both countries, along with over a dozen others, were negotiating to be part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a China-backed Asian trade bloc.