Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters met on the sidelines of ASEAN meetings in Manila, where they discussed Indo-Pacific security and ways to boost maritime cooperation.
The meeting builds on the recently signed India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030, unveiled during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to New Zealand in July. The roadmap places heavy emphasis on maritime security, counter-terrorism, and cyber defence.
Jaishankar described the conversation as ‘useful’ in a post on X, adding that the two leaders shared perspectives on the Indo-Pacific security situation and discussed enhancing maritime cooperation.
Under the roadmap, both nations will establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue, conduct bilateral naval exercises, and operationalise a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. They have also signed a Maritime Cooperation Arrangement and mutual logistics support agreements focused on the maritime domain.
The meeting signals a deepening of defence ties between the two nations, with New Zealand nominating maritime security as its priority pillar under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.
Article and image source: newzealandstar.com
