Auckland, July 10 (IANS) India’s economic development and inclusive growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been quite transformational and extremely impressive, New Zealand Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay said on Friday.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, McClay said he has witnessed India’s progress over the years and described the country’s economic journey as remarkable.

“It’s been quite impressive. I’ve been coming to India for many years. In fact, I was looking at trade negotiations almost a decade ago. India today is a transformed nation. It is confident. It is upwardly mobile,” he said.

“It has a young population that’s becoming educated. India wants to send them around the world to work, to get experience and then bring them home to help continue to grow the economy. It really has been quite transformational and it’s extremely impressive,” McClay told IANS.

The minister noted that while there is always scope for further progress, the recently concluded India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) provides a strong platform for the two countries to deepen their economic partnership.

“There’s always more work to do, but we’re so pleased with the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. New Zealand now, as a partner of India, can work alongside Prime Minister Modi to continue to help develop the economy,” McClay said.

He said New Zealand’s expertise in agriculture, innovation and agri-technology could contribute significantly to India’s development, particularly in enhancing farm productivity and rural incomes.

“Agriculture is an example. A lot of the expertise we have and the innovation and the agri-tech can become available to India. We can help Prime Minister Modi and join in his commitment to increase the earnings of Indian farmers by 50 per cent by 2030. New Zealand now has the ability to play a role in that and make sure it’s a success,” he added.

–IANS

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