CNBC TV18 | 2 April 2026
India to sign FTA with New Zealand in April 2026
By Abhimanyu Sharma
India is looking to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand in the 4th week of April, said India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. In December 2025, India and New Zealand had announced conclusion of a trade agreement which opens skilled employment pathways through a new Temporary Employment Entry Visa pathway for Indian professionals in skilled occupations, with a quota of 5,000 visas at any given time and a stay of up to three years. This pathway covers Indian professions such as AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs, and music teachers, as well as high-demand sectors including IT, engineering, healthcare, education, and construction to strengthen workforce mobility and services trade between India and New Zealand.
Under the FTA, New Zealand has committed to facilitate investments of $20 billion into India over the next fifteen years to support manufacturing, infrastructure, services, innovation, and employment. Indian enterprises are expected to benefit from their presence in New Zealand and access to the wider Pacific Island markets. India’s bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand stood at $1.3 billion in FY 2024–25, registering a growth of nearly 49% over the previous year.
With the signing of the FTA with New Zealand, India will now have trade pacts with all members of the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) except China. On the sidelines of the recently concluded WTO Ministerial Conference (MC-14) in Cameroon, India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had met his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao. The Indian Minister said that he met the Chinese minister "after a long time" with an aim to smoothen bilateral trade. He described the meeting as a "good start" for generating greater opportunities for Indian exporters in sectors like pharmaceuticals, marine products, and engineering goods.
