India, New Zealand unveil 'Roadmap to 2030' to boost defence and security ties; announce Annual Maritime Security Dialogue

The landmark roadmap, endorsed during the high-level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon in Auckland on Saturday, places a heavy emphasis on maritime security, counter-terrorism, and cyber defence under its critical Pillar II framework.

Under the Roadmap to 2030, the two countries agreed to "continue to pursue military interaction via exercises, visits of units (maritime, air, land), short-term personnel exchanges, sporting visits, defence staff college exchanges, and high-level defence dialogues" and "continue to enhance dialogue on defence-related matters, including at the Ministerial level."

The roadmap also commits both sides to "continue to implement the 2025 India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation and maintain regular, structured defence engagement at Defence Ministry and Service levels."

The roadmap further provides for efforts to formalise cooperation on combating narcotics trafficking and strengthen law enforcement cooperation, including between India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the New Zealand Police.

Echoing these commitments, the Joint Statement welcomed progress in defence ties, including "the implementation of the 2025 India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation," and said the two Prime Ministers agreed to "maintain regular structured engagement at Defence Ministry and Service levels."

The Joint Statement also highlighted cooperation under Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) in 2025, with "New Zealand in command and India as Deputy Commander," supporting efforts to deter "narcotics smuggling, terrorism, and illicit maritime activity in the Middle East and the Western Indian Ocean."

As part of the major security overhaul, both nations have agreed to establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue led by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) of New Zealand.

The two countries also agreed to "establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue" and "operationalise the Memorandum of Arrangement establishing a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism," while enhancing cooperation through the India-New Zealand Cyber Dialogue.

The Joint Statement further said India welcomed New Zealand's nomination of Maritime Security as its priority pillar under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, while both countries agreed to "establish an annual Maritime Security Dialogue to strengthen cooperation, coordination and information exchange."

Furthermore, the two sides will immediately implement a recently agreed Maritime Cooperation Arrangement, an Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused specifically on the maritime domain. Under this framework, both nations will routinely conduct naval activities, including bilateral naval exercises.

A key pillar of the roadmap is maritime cooperation. India and New Zealand agreed to "implement the recently agreed Maritime Cooperation Arrangement, Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused on the maritime domain" and to "conduct naval activities, including bilateral naval exercises, as part of the Maritime Cooperation Arrangement."

On maritime cooperation, the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation through "the newly concluded Maritime Cooperation Arrangement (MCA), an Implementing Arrangement on Cooperation in Matters of Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and a Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement focused on the maritime domain." They also welcomed "naval activities, including bilateral naval exercises, as part of the MCA."

To institutionalise their counter-terror apparatus, the roadmap mandates the operationalisation of the newly signed Memorandum of Arrangement establishing a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Counter-Terrorism, with its maiden meeting scheduled to be convened shortly.

The two Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their "shared commitment to strengthening cooperation on counter terrorism, cyber security, and related security challenges" and agreed to strengthen practical law enforcement cooperation to combat "transnational and organised crime, including illicit drug trafficking, financial crime, cyber-enabled crime, terrorism-related offences, people smuggling and trafficking in persons."

In a bid to expand law enforcement and intelligence networking, India and New Zealand have resolved to work towards the formalisation of a Memorandum of Arrangement between the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India and the New Zealand Police. (ANI)