Wellington [New Zealand], December 23 (ANI): New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday hailed the Free Trade Agreement with India, calling it an 'excellent' deal amid potential gains for the country's exporters.

In an X post, the New Zealand PM said the FTA reduces or eliminates tariffs on 95 per cent of its exports to India, which he stated will support farmers, manufacturers, and exporters.

He said, 'One of the most important parts of my job is getting out and hustling for New Zealand on the world stage. We've just concluded an excellent Free Trade Agreement with India - and it's a credit to the hard work and persistence of Todd 'Trade' McClay and our negotiating team. The FTA reduces or removes tariffs on 95 per cent of our exports to India. Based on NZ's growth in trade after other FTAs, the potential gain for our exporters and economy from this agreement is huge.'

'Trade already supports one in four New Zealand jobs, and this agreement strengthens that - backing our farmers, growers, manufacturers and exporters to compete on the world stage. If you're building something great here in New Zealand and want to sell it to the world, National is backing you every step of the way. Because when we trade with the world, we grow our economy at home. That means more jobs, more investment, and higher wages for Kiwis,' Luxon said.

https://x.com/chrisluxonmp/status/2003207943890829660?s=20

Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, as the two leaders jointly announced a landmark India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The leaders agreed that the FTA would serve as a catalyst for greater trade, investment, innovation and shared opportunities between both countries.

In an X post, PM Modi wrote, 'My friend PM Christopher Luxon and I had a very good conversation a short while ago following the conclusion of the landmark India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Concluded in just nine months, this historic milestone reflects a strong political will and shared ambition to deepen economic ties between our two countries.'

The Free Trade Agreement includes zero duty on 100 per cent of goods exports upon entry into force; tariff elimination on 8,284 tariff lines, expanding market access for Indian products; and new growth avenues across IT-ITES, finance, education, tourism and audio-visual services.

New Zealand has also committed to facilitating investments of USD 20 billion into India over the next fifteen years, thereby supporting manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation and employment under India's Make in India vision. (ANI)