Where will the event take place?

The event will be held in Auckland, NZL.

Who is the featured speaker at this event?

The featured speaker is Vangelis Vitalis, the Chief Negotiator for NZL in the FTA discussions.

What is the primary focus of the event?

The event focuses on providing insights into the NZL-IND Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

Inside the NZ India FTA with Vangelis Vitalis – Auckland Event

Name: Inside the NZ India FTA with Vangelis Vitalis – Auckland Event
Start: 2026-06-23T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-06-23T00:00:00Z
Location: Auckland

Jun 23, 2026Auckland, New ZealandIn-person

Registration open

This event in Auckland, New Zealand, offers a critical look into the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between New Zealand and India. Featuring Vangelis Vitalis, the Chief Negotiator for New Zealand, attendees will gain direct insights into the complexities, challenges, and strategic considerations shaping this significant bilateral trade discussion. The session is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the diplomatic and economic factors at play, directly from a key figure involved in the negotiations.

Committees & topics

Topics
The New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement Negotiations · New Zealand's Indo-Pacific Trade Strategy and Economic Diversification

Why it matters

The potential NZL-IND FTA holds substantial implications for both nations, impacting various sectors from agriculture to technology and services. For NZL, securing an FTA with IND represents an opportunity to diversify its trade relationships and access a large, growing market. For IND, such an agreement could facilitate greater access to NZL's specialized goods and services, while also strengthening its presence in the Oceania region. Understanding the intricacies of these negotiations is crucial for businesses, policymakers, and academics seeking to navigate future trade landscapes.

Beyond immediate economic benefits, the FTA negotiations reflect broader geopolitical currents. As global trade dynamics shift, bilateral agreements like this one become instrumental in shaping international economic order and fostering strategic partnerships. The insights shared at this event will illuminate the diplomatic efforts required to bridge differences and find common ground between two distinct economies. This engagement underscores the importance of direct dialogue and expert analysis in understanding complex international agreements.

How to prepare

To fully leverage the insights offered by Vangelis Vitalis, participants should engage in preliminary research on the current trade relationship between NZL and IND. Familiarity with the general principles of free trade agreements and their potential impacts on different economic sectors will be beneficial. Consider reviewing NZL's existing trade agreements to understand its typical negotiating positions and priorities.

For those interested in diplomatic strategy, examining the roles of chief negotiators and the dynamics of international trade talks can provide valuable context. Lessons such as "Engagement Strategies" and "Dynamic Analysis" can offer frameworks for understanding the negotiation process. Preparing specific questions regarding potential sticking points, areas of mutual benefit, or the long-term vision for the NZL-IND economic partnership will enhance the learning experience. Understanding the perspectives of various stakeholders, as discussed in "What Is Stakeholder Mapping?" and "Hidden Stakeholders," can also provide a richer context for the discussions.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 2 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

New Zealand

Seeks to diversify trade and expand market access for its exports, particularly in agriculture and services, while navigating the complexities of a large, protectionist market.

Role in topic

As the host country and a key negotiator, NZL is actively pursuing an FTA with IND to strengthen its economic ties and secure new opportunities for its industries. The event features NZL's Chief Negotiator, highlighting its central role in driving these discussions.

India

Aims to enhance its economic partnerships, secure access to specialized goods and services, and strengthen its geopolitical standing in the Indo-Pacific region through strategic trade agreements.

Role in topic

IND is the other principal party in the FTA negotiations. Its large and growing market presents significant opportunities and challenges for NZL. Understanding IND's economic priorities and trade policies is crucial for comprehending the negotiation dynamics.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

The New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement Negotiations

New Zealand and India formally launched negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement in March 2025, following Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's state visit to New Delhi and a joint announcement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The talks revive a process first opened in 2010 that stalled in 2015, primarily over India's reluctance to liberalise its dairy sector — a defining export interest for New Zealand. In the intervening decade, India has concluded comprehensive economic agreements with the UAE and Australia (2022) and the EFTA bloc (2024), signalling a more pragmatic but still selective approach to market opening. The core dispute centres on asymmetries: India seeks greater mobility for skilled workers, services market access, and protection for its sensitive agricultural producers, while New Zealand prioritises tariff reductions on dairy, meat, wool, horticulture, and forestry products. India currently maintains tariffs on dairy ranging up to 30–60 percent, reflecting the political weight of its roughly 80 million smallholder dairy farmers. New Zealand negotiators, led by Deputy Secretary and Chief Trade Negotiator Vangelis Vitalis, have indicated a willingness to consider a phased or sector-flexible deal rather than insisting on full dairy liberalisation upfront. The negotiations sit within a broader Indo-Pacific recalibration. New Zealand is diversifying trade exposure away from heavy reliance on China, while India is positioning itself as a manufacturing and services alternative amid global supply-chain realignment. Bilateral two-way trade remains modest — around NZD 3 billion annually — but both governments have publicly framed the FTA as a strategic anchor as much as a commercial instrument, with successive negotiating rounds underway through 2025.

Key players

New Zealand's Indo-Pacific Trade Strategy and Economic Diversification

New Zealand's trade architecture has long rested on a small number of high-value partnerships, with China alone absorbing roughly a quarter of goods exports. Following geopolitical shocks — the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, US–China decoupling pressures, and Red Sea shipping disruptions — Wellington has accelerated efforts to diversify both markets and supply chains. The 2022 NZ–UK FTA, the 2022 NZ–EU FTA (in force 2024), CPTPP expansion, and the launch of India negotiations form a deliberate sequence aimed at spreading exposure across the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic economies. The strategic question facing New Zealand is how a small, open, agriculture-dependent economy retains influence in a fragmenting global trade order. Multilateral progress at the WTO remains slow, with the Appellate Body still paralysed and plurilateral initiatives on e-commerce and investment facilitation advancing only incrementally. New Zealand has responded by championing the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) with Singapore and Chile, joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and pursuing sectoral deals on climate-aligned trade. The India FTA fits within this wider posture: it tests whether New Zealand can secure meaningful access to a large, protectionist, but rapidly growing market without diluting the high-ambition template it has used in CPTPP and the EU deal. The outcome will influence how other middle and small economies — Canada, the UK, ASEAN states — approach their own India negotiations, and will shape the credibility of rules-based trade liberalisation in an era of industrial policy and strategic competition.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for Inside the NZ India FTA with Vangelis Vitalis – Auckland Event.

Recent reporting to ground your prep

Australia's Legal Test for IS Returnees

Azam Khan’s PAN Case

Congress: Key to U.S. Trade Policy Stability

Great Nicobar Project

Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Advanced Negotiation

Multilateral Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

Conflict Resolution

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

New Zealand June 2026

By committee

Frequently asked questions

Inside the NZ India FTA with Vangelis Vitalis – Auckland Event

Jun 23, 2026Auckland, New ZealandIn-person

Registration open

Committees & topics

Topics
The New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement Negotiations · New Zealand's Indo-Pacific Trade Strategy and Economic Diversification

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 2 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

New Zealand

Seeks to diversify trade and expand market access for its exports, particularly in agriculture and services, while navigating the complexities of a large, protectionist market.

Role in topic

India

Aims to enhance its economic partnerships, secure access to specialized goods and services, and strengthen its geopolitical standing in the Indo-Pacific region through strategic trade agreements.

Role in topic