The much-awaited meeting (at least within the Kiwi-Indian community), between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, is likely to happen later today at Manila, where the world leaders have gathered for the East Asia summit.
Both Prime Ministers have reached Manila on Sunday, November 12, and have been seen greeting and exchanging pleasantries with various world leaders.
However, Ms Ardern and Mr Modi had not yet got a chance to see each other and exchange pleasantries casually, before their scheduled formal meeting later today.
Earlier, New Zealand High Commissioner to India, Joanna Kempkers told The Indian Weekender that their office had put a lot of efforts in making this meeting possible between the two leaders and hoping for the best outcome for the two nations.
“Our office has put a lot of effort into first securing the meeting and then briefing Prime Minister Ardern to make the meeting a success.
Joanna Kempkers, the New Zealand High Commissioner to India
“We in Delhi are very excited about the prospect of the NZ-India PMs meeting,” Ms Kempkers told The Indian Weekender.
Similar views were echoed by the Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand, Sanjiv Kohli, who is hopeful that this first meeting between the two would be a harbinger of more positivity between the two countries.
“We have a long-standing and excellent relationship.
“This particular meeting likely to happen in Manila will be the first contact at the highest level after formation of a new government in NZ. So this will also be about the two PMs getting to know each other.
“Our PM had sent a letter of congratulations earlier to PM Ardern expressing our desire to work closely with her government to further strengthen our wide-ranging partnership.
Indian High Commissioner to NZ, Sanjiv Kohli
“Our partnership now goes beyond mere bilateral issues, and we have an increasing convergence of values and interests in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Mr Kohli told The Indian Weekender.
Indian New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) – the premier trade organisation in NZ, which has been working for over 25 years to build trade relations between India & New Zealand, is also looking forward towards the prospects of meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
Sameer Handa, the Executive Member of the INZBC, told The Indian Weekender, “We are looking forward towards today’s meeting between the two leaders with much anticipation.”
“With the change of government and new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, we are hoping that the talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between both the countries would be expedited and reach to a conclusion soon,” Mr Handa added further.
There is a huge expectation within the larger Indian diaspora in NZ that a Jacinda-Modi magic would unfold and take this bilateral relationship to the next level.