Jaishankar referred to the plight of Indian students studying in New Zealand before the pandemic, and who had been unable to renew their visas to return to complete their studies
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“I urged the Prime Minister [Jacinda Ardern] and Foreign Minister [Nanaia Mahuta] to take a sympathetic and understanding view of the predicament of those Indian students who were here, and was glad to be assured that they would clearly approach the issue sympathetically. So I hope to see some progress in that regard,” said India’s External Affairs Minster S. Jaishankar.
Jaishankar was referring to the plight of Indian students studying in New Zealand before the pandemic, and who had been unable to renew their visas to return to complete their studies.
Jaishankar was speaking at a function to inaugurate the new chancery building of the Indian High Commission in Wellington. The first Indian foreign minister to visit New Zealand in 21 years, Jaishankar left for Australia after the inauguration.
He pointed out that students were hit harder by Covid than others, because they were at a stage where their “lifetime possibilities” had been impacted.
Jaishankar said that in recent years the prime ministers of the two countries, Narendra Modi and Jacinda Ardern, had established a relationship and met from time to time on the sidelines of events. He noted that the Ardern “was among the few to join us at Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th anniversary celebrations at the United Nations.”
“It does make a difference when the leaders at the highest level are in touch with each other,” Jaishankar observed, and quipped: “It also makes a difference that the foreign ministers actually get along very well.”
“The Indian External Affairs Minister’s visit coincides with the commemoration of 75 years of Indian Independence, as well as 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and New Zealand. The chancery project was started in 2016 under the leadership of the minister when he was the Foreign Secretary of India. And it is only befitting that the formal inauguration of the new chancery building is done by him today as the External Affairs Minister.”
— Neeta Bhushan, Indian High Commissioner
Jaishankar also spoke about the India-NZ relationship that was due for an upgrade. “In this world of ours, no one is really too far. There is no country in the world today where we can say that we are indifferent, or uninterested or uninvolved. And that’s the baseline. More positive, optimistic societies see merits, opportunities and possibilities in others,” he said. India’s relationship with New Zealand was part of that optimistic vision of the world, he explained.
Jaishankar said he had multiple opportunities during his visit to NZ to send out the message that India was open for business, that there were areas “where New Zealand’s capabilities, experiences and best practices can make a big difference, “through partnerships and joint ventures”. The other area that clearly invites the two countries to do more is the digital domain, he said. Jaishankar said he would like to encourage India and New Zealand to partner in knowledge driven businesses that depended on creativity, innovation and human talent.
Earlier, Indian High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan, in her welcome address, said the Indian External Affairs Minister’s visit coincided with the commemoration of 75 years of Indian Independence, as well as 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and New Zealand. The chancery project was started in 2016 under the leadership of the minister when he was the Foreign Secretary of India, she noted. “And it is only befitting that the formal inauguration [of the new chancery building] is done by him today as the External Affairs Minister,” she said.
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