Luxon says New Zealand and India should defend rules-based system as Modi arrives in Auckland

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said his country and India should work together to defend a rules-based international system as Narendra Modi arrives in Auckland on Friday. The visit is being described as the first by an Indian prime minister to New Zealand in four decades. Luxon framed the trip as a moment to deepen ties between the two countries at a time of shifting global politics.

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In an interview, Luxon said the world has moved from a rules-based system to a power-based one, and from a multilateral system to a multipolar one. He pointed to tensions involving the United States, China and Russia as evidence of what he called an inflection point in global geopolitics. He said New Zealand, as a small free-trading country, has benefited from a system in which larger and smaller states are treated equally.

Luxon said the relationship with India matters because New Zealand, working with India and other like-minded partners, needs to make the case again for that system. He also backed reform of the post-Second World War international order, saying countries in the Global South, including India and Brazil, have not always been fully part of it. He described India and New Zealand as long-standing friends with similar values and a shared interest in doing more together.

The comments come as both governments look to broaden a relationship that Luxon said rests on economic, defence, security and people-to-people ties. He said the two countries are at opposite ends of the Indo-Pacific but should still build a much broader and deeper partnership. The timing of the visit gives added weight to those remarks, because it places bilateral diplomacy against the backdrop of wider debate over trade, security and the future of multilateral cooperation.

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The visit is also notable because it is the first by an Indian prime minister to New Zealand in 40 years, underlining how infrequently the relationship has been marked at the highest political level. Luxon said he and Modi had discussed the need for the two countries to do more together. He also said there is a strong opportunity for India in New Zealand, including on immigration, although the supporting material does not provide further detail on policy changes.

What remains unclear from the available material is the full agenda for Modi's Auckland stop and whether the two leaders will announce any concrete agreements. It is also not yet clear how far the talks will go on trade, security or migration. The visit will be watched for signs of whether the two sides can turn the language of shared values into practical cooperation.

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