Prime Minister Christopher Luxon inaugurated one of New Zealand’s most attended Diwali festivals, the BNZ Auckland Diwali 2025.
The festival began with a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony followed by cultural performances and a community address by the Prime Minister.
Speaking to The Indian Weekender during his visit to the Diwali event, Prime Minister Luxon reflected on India–New Zealand relations and what lies ahead.
Referring to the India–New Zealand relationship as “in great shape,” he said,
“Prime Minister Modi and I are good mates, good friends, and we are working really hard to make sure we even deepen our relationship more with more trade between India and New Zealand,” Luxon told The Indian Weekender.
"I am looking forward to see him," PM Luxon added.
Discussing the ongoing Free Trade Agreement negotiations between India and New Zealand, PM Luxon shared insights into the progress made so far.
“We are working hard on the negotiations and we finished our third round in Queenstown. The next round is in India,” he said.
“We are making good progress,” he added.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday in September this year, PM Luxon recorded a public video message extending his wishes to PM Modi.
“A milestone like this is a moment to reflect on the wisdom of your leadership as you seek to guide India towards becoming a developed country by 2047,” he said in the video message.
Reflecting on his trip to India earlier this year, in the video message he said he hoped to welcome Prime Minister Modi to New Zealand.
“I hope I might be able to reciprocate the very warm hospitality you extended to me in March by hosting you here in New Zealand. But
in the meantime, I wish you a very, very happy birthday,” he added.
At the Diwali festival, PM Luxon reiterated the sentiment when asked about PM Modi’s potential visit to New Zealand.
“It’d be great if he came. He is a very busy guy, and I’ve just given him an open invitation — saying you come whenever it works for you and your schedule,” PM Luxon said.
“We enjoy doing business with him and working with him. He has been very generous to me and we have become very good friends,” he added.
In March this year, Prime Minister Luxon visited India on a five-day trip, where he held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi and relaunched free trade negotiations between the two countries. He was accompanied by some of New Zealand’s most influential CEOs and industry leaders.
The next round of in-person negotiations is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 13–14 October, 2025