Continued from P1

I will also be addressing a community programme tomorrow in Auckland," he said. In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "This historic visit is set to strengthen bilateral ties and unlock new avenues of cooperation across several areas especially trade, defence, sports, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges." Calling it as a "special welcome in Auckland!", the MEA in another post on X said the iconic Sky Tower was illuminated to mark Modi's visit to New Zealand, "symbolising the friendship between our two countries." In his departure statement in New Delhi, the prime minister had said that his visit would "meaningfully build" upon the strong momentum in India-New Zealand ties pursuant to Luxon's visit to India in March 2025. Modi said his visit to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand will further strengthen India's Act East Policy, MAHASAGAR Vision, as well as its outlook towards a free and open Indo-Pacific. During his two-day visit to New Zealand, he will hold talks with Luxon on ways to further enhance economic, trade and commercial engagements. He will also address the Indian diaspora at a community programme. Modi arrived in New Zealand after concluding a three-day visit to Australia, where he held summit talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and both leaders reinforced the vital role of the bilateral partnership in ensuring a peaceful Indo-Pacific. A major highlight of the summit talks between the two leaders was their focus on significantly ramping up defence ties, especially in the maritime domain.

An agreement on civil nuclear energy to facilitate the commercial supply of uranium from Australia to India to fuel New Delhi's nuclear power projects was sealed after over two years of negotiations. Modi was in Indonesia before that, where 14 agreements were inked to boost cooperation in critical minerals, maritime security and other key sectors.