India, New Zealand unveil 'Roadmap to 2030' to boost defence and security ties; announce Annual Maritime Security Dialogue
Auckland, July 11
Following the formal elevation of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership, India and New Zealand on Saturday unveiled the comprehensive "India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030," establishing a robust blueprint to significantly deepen defence and security cooperation over the next four years.
The landmark roadmap, endorsed during the high-level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon in Auckland on Saturday, places a heavy emphasis on maritime security, counter-terrorism, and cyber defence under its critical Pillar II framework.
Under the Roadmap to 2030, the two countries agreed to "continue to pursue military interaction via exercises, visits of units (maritime, air, land), short-term personnel exchanges, sporting visits, defence staff college exchanges, and high-level defence dialogues" and "continue to enhance dialogue on defence-related matters, including at the Ministerial level."
The roadmap also commits both sides to "continue to implement the 2025 India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation and maintain regular, structured defence engagement at Defence Ministry and Service levels."
The roadmap further provides for efforts to formalise cooperation on combating narcotics trafficking and strengthen law enforcement cooperation, including between India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the New Zealand Police.
Echoing these commitments, the Joint Statement welcomed progress in defence ties, including "the implementation of the 2025 India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation," and said the two Prime Ministers agreed to "maintain regular structured engagement at Defence Ministry and Service levels."
The Joint Statement also highlighted cooperation under Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) in 2025, with "New Zealand in command and India as Deputy Commander," supporting efforts to deter "narcotics smuggling, terrorism, and illicit maritime activity in the Middle East and the Western Indian Ocean."
As part of the major security overhaul, both nations have agreed to establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue led by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) of New Zealand.
The two countries also agreed to "establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue" and "operationalise the Memorandum of Arrangement establishing a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism," while enhancing cooperation through the India-New Zealand Cyber Dialogue.
The Joint Statement further said India welcomed New Zealand's nomination of Maritime Security as its priority pillar under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, while both countries agreed to "establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue to strengthen cooperation, coordination and information exchange."
Furthermore, the two sides will immediately implement a recently agreed Maritime Cooperation Arrangement, an Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused specifically on the maritime domain. Under this framework, both nations will routinely conduct naval activities, including bilateral naval exercises.
A key pillar of the roadmap is maritime cooperation. India and New Zealand agreed to "implement the recently agreed Maritime Cooperation Arrangement, Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused on the maritime domain" and to "conduct naval activities, including bilateral naval exercises, as part of the Maritime Cooperation Arrangement."
On maritime cooperation, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation through "the newly concluded Maritime Cooperation Arrangement (MCA), an Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused on the maritime domain." They also welcomed "naval activities, including bilateral naval exercises, as part of the MCA."
To institutionalise their counter-terror apparatus, the roadmap mandates the operationalisation of the newly signed Memorandum of Arrangement establishing a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism, with its maiden meeting scheduled to be convened shortly.
The two Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their "shared commitment to strengthening cooperation on counter terrorism, cyber security, and related security challenges" and agreed to strengthen practical law enforcement cooperation to combat "transnational and organised crime, including illicit drug trafficking, financial crime, cyber-enabled crime, terrorism-related offences, people smuggling and trafficking in persons."
In a bid to expand law enforcement and intelligence networking, India and New Zealand have resolved to work towards the formalisation of a Memorandum of Arrangement between the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India and the New Zealand Police.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally some serious cooperation beyond cricket! The cyber dialogue and counter-terror joint working group are welcome moves. But I hope India also pushes New Zealand on extradition of wanted criminals hiding there. That's been a long-pending issue.
As someone living in Auckland, I'm thrilled to see this roadmap. The maritime security dialogue is crucial for Pacific stability. India is a natural partner for New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific. Hope our trade ties also get a similar boost soon.
Good strategic move, but let's be honest - New Zealand's defence budget is tiny and their military is largely ceremonial. The real benefit here is diplomatic and intelligence sharing. The joint working group on counter-terror and NIA-NZ Police MoU could yield practical results against Khalistani elements operating from there.
Impressive scope - from hydrography to counter-narcotics. The CTF-150 cooperation shows India's growing role in maritime security. However, I worry about overstretching our naval resources. Should we be prioritising Bay of Bengal security over Middle East deployments? Just a thought.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.