The India-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) signed this week may not be as consequential as other pacts like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, but is evidence of India’s integration with developed economies. According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his New Zealand counterpart Todd McClay, negotiations were held in a spirit of accommodation and did not hit a serious bump. The FTA was the seventh trade agreement inked by India in the past three-and-a-half years and is an important step towards securing markets in a turbulent world. The traditional exchange of gifts between the two sides saw McClay present a framed NZ T-shirt like the one used by the men’s cricket team in the recent T20 World Cup. The shirt had Goyal’s name across the back and the frame included a photograph of McClay’s meeting with Goyal in Mumbai and their visit to the city’s famous maidans where cricket is a ceaseless passion. As McClay put it, he is the “best batter” in the New Zealand parliament and was bowled by Goyal which, he said, should make the minister the best bowler in the Indian Parliament. The humour went down well and the gift indicated the thought that had gone into what can be a mere formality. During the first tour of India by a New Zealand cricket side, the third Test at Delhi’s Kotla ended in a high-scoring draw. The legendary Kiwi left-handed batsman Bert Sutcliffe scored an unbeaten 230 and his name graces the list of centurions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Vijay Manjrekar led the Indian response with 177 runs. Rameshchandra ‘Bapu’ Nadkarni was among the debutants for India and though he went wicketless, he showed his notable niggardliness giving away just 142 runs in 57 overs.
