New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday flagged the activities of Khalistani separatists in New Zealand during talks with visiting Kiwi Premier Christopher Luxon, underscoring that any form of terrorism was unacceptable, whether the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack or the 26/11 Mumbai strikes.
Although Modi did not refer specifically to Khalistani separatism in his media statement, made with Luxon by his side, his reference to anti-India activities was loaded enough.
Later, briefing the media on the talks, the secretary (east) in the external affairs ministry, Jaideep Mazumdar, confirmed that Khalistani separatist activities in New Zealand had come up during the discussions.
In his media statement, Modi said: “We stand united against terrorism. Whether it is the Christchurch terrorist attack of March 15, 2019, or the Mumbai attack of November 26, 2008, terrorism in any form is unacceptable. Strict action must be taken against those responsible for such attacks.
“We will continue to cooperate in combating terrorism, separatist, and extremist elements. In this regard, we have also shared our concerns about anti-India activities by certain illegal elements in New Zealand. We’re confident that we will continue to receive the full cooperation of the New Zealand government against such illegal elements.”
Mazumdar said: “We do alert our friends to the activities of anti-India elements in their countries and their abuse of freedom of speech and other democratic freedoms to glorify terrorism and to threaten attacks against our diplomats or our Parliament….
“These were conveyed and the Government of New Zealand has been receptive and has taken our concerns on board in the past as well. This was also the reaction that we got today.”
While Sunday’s decision to launch negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement is the biggest takeaway from Luxon’s visit, the two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding in defence for the exchange of visits, training, ship visits to each other’s ports and joint activities.
To aid legal migration, India and New Zealand have decided to start negotiations on an arrangement to ease the mobility of professionals and skilled workers between the two countries, while also addressing the issue of irregular migration.
Luxon announced that New Zealand was planning to increase its diplomatic footprint in India by more than 60 per cent.
New Zealand has joined India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative during Luxon’s visit.