The economy of New Zealand was on track for post-COVID-19 recovery and had opened up for tourists and visitors from India, said Meka Whaitiri, Minister for Food Safety and Customs of the government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Speaking to The Hindu in an exclusive interview, Ms. Whaitiri, a leading member of the indigenous Maoris of New Zealand, said that her community was influenced by the example of Mahatma Gandhi and said the relation between her country and the United Kingdom was part of an "ongoing debate".
"India is a country that New Zealand is very interested in re-establishing relationship first. Our last Ministerial visit was in 2020. Due to COVID, we have not had a visit since. My visit is an indication to India that we seriously want to re-establish that relation," said Ms. Whaitiri.
New Zealand ended all pandemic-related restrictions on July 31 and at present the country is open to all visitors who are vaccinated. Soon after opening up the economy, New Zealand has started high-level visits and Ms. Whaitiri's visit to India is expected to be followed by that of Trade Minister Damien O'Connor next week.
Ms. Whaitiri said New Zealand's hospitality and tourism industry suffered during the COVID-months and that the country was now eager to restore the sector to the pre-COVID levels. She informed that the capacity of the tourism and hospitality sectors was not hurt as the government gave subsidies that softened the 'hit' on these sectors. In response to a question from The Hindu, Ms. Whaitiri said, New Zealand would "happily take the offer" if India would show interest to establish a trade pact with the country in the way that it had established with neighbouring Australia. She however maintained that the immediate focus of her country was to restart the economy and re-establish valuable international links across the world.
The visiting Minister said there was an "ongoing debate" among the younger generation of her country about the relationship between the United Kingdom and New Zealand especially in the background of the demise of Queen Elizabeth II. New Zealand is among those Commonwealth member-countries that have designated King Charles III as the head of state. The designation was necessitated because of the existing constitutional provisions of New Zealand, said Ms. Whaitiri.
She acknowledged that racism continued to remain a problem in the world but highlighted the role of "continuous dialogue" in dealing with disparity, racism and other forms of oppression. She cited the apparent cultural links between the Maori community and ancient Indian traditions and said non-violence and dialogue as an inherited feature had helped her community deal with New Zealand's history as a crown colony in the 19th and the early 20th century.
