India, New Zealand hold 2nd round of consultations

New Delhi: India and New Zealand held a second round of Foreign Office Consultations here on Tuesday, where discussions were held on issues of “mutual interest”.

The meeting was led by Secretary (East) Vijay Thakur Singh, on behalf of India, and New Zealand’s Deputy Secretary (America & Asia Group), Ben King.

“2nd round of #IndiaNewZealand Foreign Office Consultations were held in Delhi today, led by Secretary (East), Vijay Thakur Singh & Deputy Secretary, America & Asia Group @MFATgovtNZ, Ben King. Both sides exchanged views on bilateral, regional & multilateral issues of mutual interest,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Bilateral relations were established in 1952 between India and New Zealand, while both the countries are also Commonwealth nations. Around 1,80,000 Indians live in New Zealand, out of which over 30,000 are Indian students.

Wellington has previously identified India as a priority country in its “Opening Doors to India” policy, which was notified in October 2011 according to the MEA.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]