"Worth the Wait": NZ PM Luxon Hails Modi's Historic Visit After 40 Years

"PM Modi, let me say on behalf of 5 million New Zealanders, you are worth the wait": Christopher Luxon

Auckland, July 11

Addressing the Indian community event in Auckland, Luxon gave PM Modi a warm welcome and said, "Tonight, New Zealand makes history. For the first time in 40 years, an Indian Prime Minister stands on New Zealand soil...Prime Minister Modi, let me say on behalf of 5 million New Zealanders, you are worth the wait."

Reflecting on his long association with India, Luxon recalled his first visit to the country in the 1990s while working for Hindustan Unilever and contrasted the India he witnessed then with the country today.

He said, "I first experienced your country long before I entered politics. I was in my mid-20s as a young executive with Hindustan Unilever. That was when I first visited India. In those days, I observed workers being paid at the end of each day, often with a handful of coins because a day's wage was counted in coins."

Praising India's rapid economic and social transformation over the past three decades, the New Zealand Prime Minister said every visit to India leaves him impressed by its progress.

He said, ".Look at India today...Every single time I go, I am struck all over again by the remarkable energy, the dynamism and the innovation of the Indian people. The transformation that Prime Minister Modi has led takes my breath away. India now has one of the largest middle classes in the world, with 445 million people and still growing. With those higher incomes, families can enjoy better food, take holidays, send their children to study and save for retirement. That is one of the greatest advances in human dignity the world has ever seen. Prime Minister Modi, it has happened under your leadership."

Earlier, amid loud cheers from members of the Indian diaspora, Prime Minister Modi took the stage at the community event in Auckland.

Meanwhile, in the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon watched a cultural performance in Auckland before attending the Indian Community Event.

Similarly, earlier, while addressing the India-New Zealand Business and Sports Engagement event in Auckland, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday had hailed India's economic transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has been "a great fan of India" for many years and describing the country's progress as "incredible."

Luxon recalled his first visit to India in the 1990s while working for Unilever and reflected on the country's remarkable economic journey over the past three decades.

"For many of you, you would know that I have been a great fan of India for a long period of time. I first went to India in my mid 20s. That was because I worked for a country called Unilever, which owned Hindustan Lever, which was a top 10 company in India. I remember going to India in the mid to late '90s and people got paid daily wages in coins in their hands. It's interesting to me that under PM Modi's leadership, he has lifted 250 million people out of poverty. There is now 440 million people in the middle class, about to be 750 million by the end of the decade. It is an incredible transformation," he said.

He added, "As someone who has been to India many times, to see the move from low income to middle income to high income - it is so inspiring and so exciting to see the transformation that has taken place."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day official visit to New Zealand from July 10-11 at the invitation of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. The visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in 40 years, saw the two countries elevate ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopt a Roadmap to 2030 for enhanced cooperation across trade, defence, technology, security and regional affairs.

— ANI