Opposites attract? India—New Zealand relations in the contemporary Indo-Pacific

Often seen as something of a peripheral concern in New Zealand’s reorientation towards Asia, it is argued here that India can, and should, occupy a more important place in it. This is due to the sharing of a number of common interests and concerns, including membership of the increasingly important ‘Indo-Pacific’ region. Following an examination of what the Indo-Pacific means to both countries, the article goes on to assess India’s importance to New Zealand and how the bilateral relationship is perceived in Wellington. An analysis of the various efforts that New Zealand has made to give greater substance to the bilateral relationship is then provided, in which it is contended that rather than in the area of a free trade agreement, the greatest progress has been made in people-to-people ties, at the United Nations and with regard to defence cooperation. It is concluded that if momentum can be sustained, then India will no longer be at the margins

Asia pacific · Development economics · Economics · Ethnology · Indo-Pacific · Momentum (technical analysis · Pacific studies · Political science · Sociology · Anthropology · Commonwealth, Australian Politics and Federalism · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs