New Zealand Minister sees scope for better ties with India

By K. K. Katyal

NEW DELHI, MARCH. 7. The prospects for Fiji's return to democracy are bright, as seen by its closest neighbour, New Zealand. The Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Phil Goff, now here, says he is ``broadly optimistic though still there are obstacles to be overcome''.

Fiji and various aspects of Indo-New Zealand relations figured in my 45-minute conversation today with Mr. Goff, the first Foreign Minister from his country to come here after nine years. On Fiji, he based his optimism on 1) the public commitments of the leaders of the military and the interim government there to abide by the verdict of the Court of Appeal (which has now upheld the validity of the 1997 multi-racial Constitution) and 2) his government's strong disapproval of recent developments there and the call for the restoration of democracy.

New Zealand extended all support to Fiji - through plain talk on the untenability of the present arrangement, through ``smart sanctions'' and help to its police and prosecution to enable them bring to book those responsible for removing the democratic government. New Zealand favoured reconvening of Fiji's Parliament and installation of a government of national unity (to be formed on non-discriminatory, democratic basis).

Areas of interest

Mr. Goff saw scope for increased cooperation between India (with its ``look east'' policy) and New Zealand (because of its involvement and interest in South-East and South Asia). He referred to the presence of five Indian IT firms in New Zealand as proof of the joint resolve of the two sides to work together in this field.

Identifying other areas of mutual interest, he said there was scope for 1) joint ventures between New Zealand as the dairy trading country and India as the dairy producing country, 2) promotion of tourism (the number of tourists having trebled in the last three years) and 3) New Zealand's consultancy to India in matters related to privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

New Zealand was increasingly becoming a multi-cultural country, with persons of Indian origin forming the third largest group among immigrants. In his parliamentary constituency, Mr. Goff said, one out of every five persons was an Asian while in his political committee, half the members were of Indian origin. The immigration policy, he said, was non-discriminatory.

Nuclear issue

It was clear from Mr. Goff's observations that differences between the two countries on the nuclear issue would not come in the way of steps to enhance cooperation in various fields. New Zealand, like some other countries, had reacted sharply to India's nuclear tests in 1998 but that phase - recalling it High Commissioner to signify protest - was a thing of the past. As a member of the ``New Agenda'' grouping, New Zealand was in the forefront in calling for nuclear disarmament, for adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty. It welcomed India's moratorium on nuclear tests but would like it to move towards the CTBT.

There were some significant nuances in New Zealand's policy - which brought out the divergence between it and that of other countries, like Australia. Unlike Australia, it did not have any nuclear umbrella and was not part of any military grouping, it was more forthright in calling for nuclear disarmament, supporting as it did the view of the International Court of Justice, holding nuclear weapons illegal. Its policy was shaped by its firm stand against French tests in the past in the Pacific. Also, it was opposed to the U.S. plans for National Missile Defence.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : Maharashtra adopts women empowerment policy
Next     : TUs plan protest