Q. Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar said in October during his visit to New Zealand that the relationship between the two nations was “due for a refresh”. What do you think needed to change in the relationship?
NANAIA MAHUTA: I think it was about giving the relationship greater momentum and ensuring consistency in our engagement. New Zealand and India have a positive relationship, but then we didn’t have an Indian minister visiting New Zealand for the last 20 years. We hope we can host the president (of India) in the near future. But it’s a longstanding relationship; we have people-to-people ties.
Q. What are the two or three key thrust areas you are looking at for the ‘refresh’?
Reflecting on the conversations I have had with Jaishankar, there is a common ambition on how we meet our climate change commitments. I think we should extend areas of common interest. New Zealand’s expertise in the agriculture sector and in agri-tech might offer enhanced opportunities. Education has been a bridge; we can continue to do more in it. The tech sector is a fast-growing element, there are opportunities there as well.
Q. We just signed a trade agreement with Australia. However, we are not able to do the same with New Zealand at the moment. Where do the roadblocks lie, and do you think you could look at a similar trade agreement in the near future?
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Delhi's Belly
Academic, historian and one of India's most-loved food writers, PUSHPESH PANT'S latest book-From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi-delves deep into the capital's culinary heritage
IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO
Hemant and Kalpana Soren changed Jharkhand's political game, converting near-collapse into an extraordinary comeback
THE MAHA BONDING
At one time, Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar were seen as an unwieldy trio with mutually subversive intent. A bumper assembly poll harvest inverts that
THE LION PRINCE
A spectacular assembly election win ended a long political winter for Kashmir and his party, the National Conference. But Omar Abdullah now faces crucial tests—that of meeting great expectations and holding his own with the Centre till J&K gets its statehood back
TRIAL BY FIRE
Formal charges in a US court, an air marked by accusations of bribery and concealment of information, the attendant political backlash, pressure on stock prices, valuation losses. Yet the famed Adani growth appetite and business resilience stays
'Criticism has always been a source of motivation for me'
It’s just day five since he was crowned 2024 FIDE World Chess champion (which he celebrated with a bungee jump), and Gukesh Dommaraju is still learning to adjust to the fanfare.
THE YOUNG GRANDMASTERS
GUKESH DOMMARAJU IS NOW THE YOUNGEST EVER WORLD CHAMPION, BUT THAT IS JUST ICING ON THE CAKE IN INDIA'S CHESS STORY. FOR THE 'GOLDEN GENERATION', 2024 WAS THE YEAR THEY DID IT ALL
SHOOTING QUEEN
Manu Bhaker scripted a classic turnaround at Paris 2024, putting the ghosts of the past behind her through sheer willpower to engrave her own destiny
THE COMEBACK KING
It was in no one's script: Naidu's standing leap from near-oblivion, to a place where he writes the destiny of Andhra—even New Delhi
HALTING THE BJP JUGGERNAUT
A roller-coaster year saw the Opposition coalition rebound with bold moves and policy wins, but internal rifts continue to test its durability
