PM Modi, New Zealand counterpart Hipkins discuss full range of bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his New Zealand counterpart Chris Hipkins for the first time and the two leaders discussed the full range of bilateral ties and agreed to expand cooperation in various sectors like trade and commerce, education and sports.

Modi arrived here on Sunday on his maiden visit to Papua New Guinea to host a key summit between India and 14 Pacific island countries to boost bilateral ties.

Modi met Hipkins on the sidelines of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit. This was the first interaction between the two Prime Ministers since Hipkins assumed office in January.

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"Had an excellent meeting with New Zealand PM @chrishipkins and discussed the full range of India-NZ relations. We talked about how to improve commercial and cultural linkages between our nations," prime minister Modi tweeted.

The two leaders discussed ongoing bilateral cooperation initiatives and agreed to expand cooperation in various sectors including trade & commerce, education, information technology, tourism, culture, sports and people-to-people ties, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

"Giving fresh impetus to India-New Zealand relationship. PM @narendramodi met PM @chrishipkins of New Zealand in Port Moresby," the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.