In June, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced David Pine as the new New Zealand High Commissioner to India. He then took the next available Vande Bharat Mission flight to New Delhi. Now, last week, he presented his credentials to the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind in a virtual ceremony. “The foundations of our relationship are strong: common democratic systems of government, historic ties through the Commonwealth. A love of cricket. And two shared languages: English and Hindi, now the fourth most widely spoken language in NZ,” noted Pine after the ceremony.

“Most importantly, we share a commitment to international peace. We look forward to building on the enduring New Zealand-India relationship.”

His counterpart in New Zealand – the Indian High Commissioner based in Wellington – Muktesh Pardeshi, congratulating Pine on his appointment on Twitter added, “I look forward to working closely with you to advance India-New Zealand relations to newer heights.”

-TIN Bureau