India–New Zealand Relations in the New Century: A Historical Narrative of Changing Perceptions and Shifting Priorities

Abstract

India-New Zealand relations, which could be historically dated back to the days of the British Empire, lacked until recently in substance and were rocked by several irritants, the most important of which were the divergent views on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation. However, in last one decade or so there have been some remarkable developments in this bilateral relation, as the security interests of the two nations have converged, volume of trade increased, educational ties grew stronger and people-topeople contacts improved significantly. While there still remain some challenges, as negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement have taken longer time than expected, there are also immense possibilities. This essay looks critically at those challenges and possibilities in the relationship between two countries, which on the one hand share some historic common grounds, but are also set apart by geography as well as numerous systemic dissimilarities.

New Zealand–India Trade Relations and Growth Potential: An Empirical Analysis

“…New Zealand has a long-standing and friendly relationship with India which has been reinforced by cultural links such as a common language, democratic traditions and sporting relations (Bandyopadhyay, 2013). However, this relationship has not resulted in trade expansion between the countries.…”

“…However, there exists a bidirectional causality between imports and exports. Bandyopadhyay (2013) argued that New Zealand’s closer engagement with India is no longer just economically driven. Cultural exchanges and people-to-people relations have also improved significantly over the last years.…”

A study of the adjustment experiences of Indian international students in New Zealand universities

“…Additionally, among the international students in New Zealand from different Asian countries, those arriving from India have shown to be ever increasing in number, registering the highest growth of 346% between 2006 and 2010 (Ministry of Education, 2011a). Nevertheless, when compared to the number of Indian students opting for the US for educational opportunities in higher education, the number of students arriving in New Zealand is very less (Bandyopadhyay, 2013). This article illustrated that in 2011, out of the total of 100,270 Indian students left their country pursuing higher educational opportunities in other countries, only 12,300 choose New Zealand as their study destination indicating a vast scope to capture the potential Indian market for international students.…”

“…Moreover, as a part of collaborative initiative in the field of education, an 'India New Zealand Education Council' was set up which is annually funded by both the governments, to promote research and higher education (Bandyopadhyay, 2013). India is considered as one of the important source countries for international students in the university sector and, particularly for PhD enrolments in New Zealand (Ministry of Education, 2012).…”

“…However, despite such differences and diverse features, the number of international students coming from India and studying in higher education institutions in New Zealand has grown from 2,599 in 2006 to 11,597 in 2010 (Bandyopadhyay, 2013;Ministry of Education, 2011b).…”