Congress recalls former New Zealand prime minister’s role in reviving ties with India in 1980s as Modi raises partnership

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh | Photo credit: PTI

Seeking to put the latest update on India-New Zealand ties in historical context, Congress on Saturday recalled New Zealand’s role in helping develop India’s dairy sector and the establishment of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), crediting former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange for reviving bilateral ties in the 1980s.

This came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon announced a strategic partnership between the two nations.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Mr Modi’s visit “brings back memories of a remarkable man who was key to the transformation of India-New Zealand relations”.

‘instant message’

In a post on X, Mr Ramesh said Mr Lange, who served as New Zealand’s prime minister from 1984 to 1989, chose India for his first foreign visit after taking office and “immediately struck up a rapport with Indira Gandhi” before developing a “warm and close personal relationship” with Rajiv Gandhi.

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“It was David Lange who revived the bilateral relationship that was productive in the 1950s when New Zealand helped develop India’s dairy industry and also set up AIIMS in New Delhi,” Mr Ramesh said.

Milky impact

He recalled that Verghese Kurien, the architect of India’s White Revolution, visited New Zealand on a government scholarship in 1952-53, a trip that deeply influenced his work. But bilateral relations cooled during the 1960s and 1970s before Mr. Lange sought to revive them after he took office in 1984, he said.

Mr Ramesh also noted that Mr Lange had appointed mountaineer Edmund Hillary as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India, adding that a road in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave honored both Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Strategic partnership

Earlier in the day, Messrs. Modi and Luxon announced the upgrading of ties to a strategic partnership, agreed on a roadmap to expand cooperation and set a target of doubling bilateral trade in goods and services to ₹35,000 crore by 2030.

The two sides also unveiled a framework for Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation, a mutual logistics support pact between their armed forces and agreed to launch a dialogue on maritime security.

Published – 12 Jul 2026 05:03 IST