This article covers cooperation between India and New Zealand in defence and maritime security, customs, solar energy, disaster resilience and cyber issues. It draws on the sector-wise cooperation section of the MEA brief of July 2026 and related paragraphs. The brief does not describe a development assistance programme, lines of credit or ITEC training for New Zealand, so this article concentrates on sectoral cooperation.

Defence cooperation framework

The brief states that India-New Zealand defence cooperation is in keeping with the overall friendly relations. The MoU on Defence Cooperation, signed in March 2025, aims to promote cooperation in defence strategic dialogue, defence industry, defence technology dialogue, education and training. The first Defence Strategic Dialogue under the MoU took place in New Delhi on 05 August 2025.

As of July 2026, the brief characterises current cooperation as the exchange of officers in Staff Colleges and the National Defence College, ship visits and visits by senior defence officers.

  • Rear Admiral Garin Golding, Chief of Navy for the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), accompanied Prime Minister Luxon on his official visit to India in March 2025 and attended the Raisina Dialogue. He met Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, CNS, for discussions on naval ties, joint training initiatives and maritime cooperation. On 20 March 2025, Prime Minister Luxon and RAdm Golding visited INS Surat, the latest indigenously built destroyer of the Indian Navy, at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
  • The Prime Minister's visit coincided with a visit by the Royal New Zealand Navy Ship HMNZS Te Kaha to Mumbai from 20 to 24 Mar 2025. Cmde Rodger Ward, Commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, also visited HQWNC.
  • Chief of the Royal NZ Navy Rear Admiral David Proctor visited India from 19 to 27 February 2024 and met Chief of the Naval Staff R. Hari Kumar in New Delhi. They discussed bilateral maritime cooperation through increased operational engagements, training exchanges and information sharing.
  • Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar visited New Zealand from 29 September to 1 October 2022 with a three-member delegation and held bilateral meetings with his counterpart and other defence authorities. An Agreement on White Shipping Information Exchange was signed during this visit.

Port calls by Indian vessels

Two Indian Naval Ships, INS Sahyadri and INS Kolkata, made port calls in New Zealand from 31 August to 3 September 2023, one visiting Wellington and the other Auckland. The brief notes that this was the first time in six years that Indian Naval Ships had visited New Zealand.

INSV Tarini, an Indian Naval Sailing Vessel on a circumnavigation mission under the Indian Navy's expedition "Navika Sagar Parikrama-II", made a port call at Port Lyttelton from 22 December 2024 to January 4, 2025.

In December 2025, the Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni made a port call at Lyttelton, Christchurch. It was undertaking the Tri-Service All-Women Circumnavigation Expedition Samudra Pradakshina, in which women officers from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force are sailing an approximately 26,000-nautical-mile voyage around the world. The brief describes the expedition as the first of its kind globally.

Combined Task Force 150

The brief describes Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 as a multinational naval task force working under Combined Maritime Forces and based in Bahrain. It was established to monitor, board, inspect and stop suspect shipping for safe seas, and its operations include the North Arabia Sea in support of operations in the Indian Ocean.

According to the brief, the Royal New Zealand Navy led CTF 150 from January 2025, and for that period the Indian Navy committed a contribution of 5 staff members, including the deputy commander, to the CTF150 battle staff. Commodore Roger Ward and Commander Dan Crawford of the Royal New Zealand Navy debriefed MOD on CTF 150 operations.

Customs cooperation

In August 2024, India and New Zealand signed a Customs Cooperative Arrangement aimed at enhancing trade ties and intensifying collaboration against transnational organized crime. The framework targets customs offences through initiatives such as information exchange and support for legitimate trade. It includes provisions for capacity building, expert exchanges and mutual assistance in preventing, identifying, investigating, combating and prosecuting customs offences.

In March 2025, the two countries signed the Authorised Economic Operator - Mutual Recognition Agreement (AEO MRA). It is aimed at facilitating trade and strengthening supply chain security by mutually recognising each other's trusted traders.

Solar energy and disaster resilience

New Zealand ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Its Instrument of Ratification was handed over by the New Zealand side during the bilateral meeting between President Smt. Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Luxon, on the President's State Visit to Wellington in August 2024.

During Prime Minister Luxon's visit to India in March 2025, New Zealand joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).

Cyber dialogue

The second edition of the India-NZ Bilateral Cyber Dialogue was held in virtual mode on 16-17 November 2021. It discussed existing bilateral cooperation in cyberspace, exchanged views on the latest developments on cyber issues at bilateral, regional and multilateral fora, and explored initiatives for further cyber cooperation. As of July 2026, a proposal for the 3rd dialogue was pending with the New Zealand side.