The India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) signed a landmark agreement with the ASEAN New Zealand Business Council at an event in Auckland on Friday, May 25.
This is a significant development for New Zealand-India trade because both the countries are part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Agreement (RCEP), which also includes ten countries of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) grouping.
With a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between New Zealand and India remaining elusive even a decade after it was first mooted, the two countries are now laying store by this alternative RCEP mechanism to try to achieve what a bilateral FTA might have.
INZBC Chairman Robert Barker and ASEAN-NZBC Chairman Kenneth Leong signed the agreement in the presence of NZ Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, who was the chief guest for the event, and members of the INZBC board. Joanna Kempkers, New Zealand High Commissioner in India was also present.
Earlier, INZBC Treasurer and Honorary Indian Consul in Auckland BhavDhillon welcomed the well-attended gathering of INZBC members and guests that included Labour MP PriyancaRadhakrishnan.
Almost every company in New Zealand that has something to with India is a member of INZBC and the council had come to earn a reputation as the most active business council in the country with a significant event happening almost every month, Mr Dhillon said.
The council’s ‘India Unplugged’ series of events went beyond just networking. “These are not catch-all events but each one is dedicated to a different aspect of business and have detailed topics like GST, IP and capital repatriation, among others.
The council also has an annual summit dedicated to a subject. Already, summits on IT, agriculture and education have been held. “In 2018, we will have an Aviation Summit,” Mr Dillon said.
He said the INZBC-ASEAN-NZBC agreement signed on the day was a historic event. “ASEAN is a major player in the RCEP and pooling our resources can only benefit all parties,” he added.
Mr Leong in his brief address said eight out of ten Kiwis believed that Asia was important to New Zealand but three out of four thought, “they know very little about Asia.” He welcomed the new agreement with INZBC.
INZBC Executive Member Jo Pennycuick did the honours as MC and Sameer Handa, another Executive Member, proposed a vote of thanks.
The board welcomed Minister David Parker with flowers. See accompanying report on Mr Parker’s address.
