As part of the inaugural Parliamentary Friendship Group exchange, New Zealand Parliament’s South and South East Asia Parliamentary Friendship Group, led by co-chairs Greg O’Connor MP (Labour) and Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi MP (National), met India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, in New Delhi on November 25.

As noted by the Minister, the discussions were on measures “to further strengthen Parliamentary ties, trade and connectivity” between the two countries.

Notably, Singh and O’Connor were leading the delegation of New Zealand MPs to Indonesia and India for official visits between November 17 to 25. Their Friendship Group is one of the seven parliamentary friendship groups within the New Zealand Parliament.

“The purpose of the exchange is to strengthen New Zealand’s bilateral relations with these countries and to promote New Zealand in the South and South East Asia region. The delegation also includes Melissa Lee MP (National) and Tim Macindoe MP (National). The exchange will begin in Jakarta, before heading to Mumbai and Delhi. Each stop includes engagements with the respective Parliaments, as well as with various business groups with particular relevance to New Zealand,” Speaker of New Zealand Parliament Trevor Mallard had said in a release before the visit began.

-TIN Bureau