Auckland: Highlighting a deep cultural dimension to expanding bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday stated that traditional medicine, indigenous cultural exchanges, and stronger people-to-people ties will form a fundamental pillar of the freshly elevated India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership.
Addressing a special media briefing in Auckland, Secretary (East) in the MEA, Rudrendra Tandon, explained that both nations are actively working to build on core cultural similarities--particularly a shared, deep-rooted reverence for indigenous traditions and nature.
"Traditional medicine and celebrating indigenous cultures, and people-to-people connect will be an important underpinning of the relationship," Tandon said.
India and New Zealand in April 2026 signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement featuring a dedicated Health and Traditional Medicine Annexe. This historic framework formally elevates India's AYUSH systems alongside indigenous Maori health practices, unlocking cross-border mobility for practitioners and encouraging institutional collaboration in holistic healing.
The collaboration integrates both nations' rich holistic health heritages into a shared modern healthcare and economic framework. New Zealand has agreed to dedicated provisions within an FTA facilitating trade and education in Ayurveda, Yoga, and other AYUSH disciplines alongside Maori health practices
"One of the things we are doing this time is that we are focusing on traditional medicine. As you know, the Prime Minister has always believed that traditional medicine in a public health care system is a very important preventive health care," Tandon said.
He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his high-level engagements, specifically pointed to the structural similarities between Indian heritage and New Zealand's indigenous traditions, including the celebration of the Maori New Year, Matariki.
"Collaboration between New Zealand's ancient Maori culture and India's own traditional medicine is a very exciting area of cooperation and very relevant to contemporary times. This is certainly something that the Prime Minister himself is very interested in promoting, and it is also a very exciting area for developing the relationship forward."
Explaining the broader significance of the visit, Tandon said New Zealand occupies an important place in India's strategic outlook in the Indo-Pacific.
"India is an Indian Ocean country. We are very attentive to what happens in adjoining maritime zones. The Pacific is a very important maritime zone for us. We've always considered New Zealand to be a very important power in this region, and a like-minded power," he said.
Tandon credited New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon for injecting fresh momentum into bilateral ties.
"Prime Minister Luxon has been working very hard to impart this new energy to the relationship, which is now a strategic relationship, precisely because of the idea that, as an inhabitant of the Indian Ocean and you as an inhabitant of the Pacific Ocean, we need to establish a close strategic relationship," he said.
He added that economic complementarities further strengthened the partnership.
"There is a significant economic dimension to this relationship. We are a large, growing market; there is considerable opportunity. You are an advanced economy with advanced technology. We are always looking to forge partnerships with that. We have a very good basis for building an exciting economic relationship," Tandon said.
Responding to a question on monitoring New Zealand's proposed facilitation of USD 20 billion in investment, Tandon expressed confidence that the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would itself create sufficient incentives for investors.
"The Prime Minister made it very clear that this is a long-term partnership. My suspicion is that when the India-New Zealand FTA is ratified and starts getting implemented, the opportunities will be so attractive. India is a very attractive investment destination in the emerging market space. So I suspect that monitoring will not really be required. But of course, it is part of the understandings we arrived at while drafting the FTA," he said.
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 40 years, saw the two countries elevate ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopt a Roadmap to 2030 for enhanced cooperation across trade, defence, technology, security and regional affairs.
