The NZIIA Wellington Branch Student Committee welcomes you to a roundtable discussion exploring the background, social aspects, and future of the recently-signed Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and India. 

Places are limited - please RSVP to studentrep.nziia.wellington@gmail.com - a waiting list will be in operation

In these turbulent times, what lies ahead for New Zealand trade?

Our economy relies on a web of high-quality and painstakingly negotiated trade relationships with global players. A newly minted free trade agreement with India, signed in April, promises to expand opportunities for New Zealand beyond our major partners. At the same time, a rapidly evolving social and economic landscape at home and abroad, alongside challenges to traditional bipartisan approaches, complicates the pursuit of trade-driven growth. This timely roundtable discussion takes the New Zealand-India FTA as a departure point to cover New Zealand's approach to high-stakes trade negotiations and our enduring social connection to the subcontinent.

Following opening remarks from our two expert panelists, the floor will be open for interactive discussion. Don't miss this opportunity for fresh insights and your chance to be part of the conversation.

Confirmed panelists:

Mark Sinclair is a career diplomat. He has served offshore in Tokyo, Honiara, Canberra, and Geneva. His most recent offshore assignments were as ambassador to Japan and Mexico. He has had a series of trade roles from 2001 in New Zealand’s WTO mission in Geneva, as director of MFAT’s trade negotiations division, and as chief negotiator for the trans-Pacific Partnership negotiation. He was also New Zealand’s climate change ambassador briefly after his return from Tokyo. Alongside being MFAT's deputy secretary responsible for the Americas and Asia from early 2020, he was New Zealand’s chief negotiator for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a Biden administration initiative involving 14 Indo-Pacific countries with a strong focus on pressing economic issues, including climate and trade.

Sekhar Bandyopadhyay is Emeritus Professor of History at Victoria University of Wellington. He was the founding Director of the New Zealand India Research Institute. Educated at Presidency College and the University of Calcutta, his primary research interest is in the history of nationalism and caste in colonial and postcolonial India. He is also interested in the history of Indian migration and the Indian diaspora. He has written six books, edited or co-edited fourteen books, and published more than fifty book chapters and journal articles. He is currently co-editor of the New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies. He is also an Inaugural Fellow of the New Zealand Academy of Humanities and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is a recipient of Rabindra Puraskar (Rabindranath Tagore Award), given by Bangla Academy, Government of West Bengal, India.