India and New Zealand have decided to start detailed negotiations on a mutually beneficial free trade agreement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday( 17 March 2025) after talks with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon.

• The FTA was stalled in 2015 following their failure to narrow differences in sensitive areas including dairy and agriculture.
• India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment but the talks stalled after nine rounds of discussions.
• The ninth round of negotiation was held in 2013.
• The two nations had already announced the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand FTA on the eve of the bilateral meeting between Modi and Luxon.