Dame Therese Walsh: India Business Delegation Lead on the opportunities in the ministerial delegation to India

The Prime Minister's taking one of the largest ministerial delegations to India. 

Christopher Luxon is heading to New Delhi and Mumbai on Saturday with a contingent of ministers and business leaders. 

Prioritising a deal with the fast-growing economic giant was a coalition condition with NZ First. 

India Business Delegation Lead Dame Therese Walsh told Mike Hosking businesses have a lot to learn about India. 

She says it's a good chance to get in front of heads of industry and make ourselves visible, ensuring we really understand the opportunities that exist for New Zealand.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the long awaited trip to India for the Prime
Minister's off this weekend. Large delegation. To mind you, it's
a large market and an FTA is long sought, but
particularly tricky for a farming country like ours. Anyway, Dameterris
Walsh is leading the business delegation and is with us
a very good morning to you. Cure about Mike, how
big is big.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
In terms of the country or the delegation?

Speaker 1 (00:19):
No, the delegation big.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Actually yeah, Look the delegation. I'm only doing the business
delegation along with Ross Taylor, the former black Cat. We've
got about forty odd people coming on that delegation and
then there's also a community delegation coming along as well.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Are there specifics you are looking to achieve or is
this a glad handing exercise to warm the relationship?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Look, warming the relationship is important, but it's definitely it's
definitely more than that. I think there's a range of things.
I think we as a business community need to learn
more about India. There ideals that are currently being done
that will be talked about while we are there, and
there'll be no doubt further arrangements that come off the
back of it. But it's a good chance to get

(01:02):
in front of chambers of commerce, heads of industry over
there and actually learn, make ourselves visible, ensure that we
really understand what the opportunities are for New Zealand, because,
as you said, at the outset a massive economy for
us and relatively proximate.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
How much business do you know is done there anyway
in an FTA or whatever just comes in over the
top of that.

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Well, at the moment, I think in terms of New
Zealand's experts it's about one point five percent of our
exports today, which is actually very small when you think
about the size of the economy in India, and for
anyone that doesn't know, I mean, within five years it's
probably going to be the third largest economy in the world.
So we've got a lot of growth opportunity here and

(01:46):
in particular in the egg resection. But even outside of that, tourism,
tech education, there's just a lot there to unveil for
New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
I don't know if this is in your wheelhouse or not,
but I've got a lot of text traffic this morning
talking about the structure or lack of in India. So
in other words, yes, we want to do business, and
they probably want to do business with us, but when
you come to ports and stuff like that, connectivity is
still an issue. Is that fair or not?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
It's sort of. I mean, I think you know, for
folks that have been to India recently, there are parts
of India that are incredibly progressive. They've got a massive
youth population that are very tech savvy, and some cities
are actually incredibly progressive in different parts. When you talk
about connectivity, it's actually one of the things, speaking as
the charity in New Zealand that we're looking to get

(02:32):
out of this tripper is to as we expand our
network in the next couple of years, as we get
hold of aircraft, is actually to look at flying to India.
It's been something we've been signaling and we will be
meeting with folk over the air and making that part
of the discussion.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
I'm glad you raise that because I was going to
raise it anyway. It seems the weirdest thing that you
can have that size market in roughly our region and
we have no direct link. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Look, well I would agree with you, and I think
you know, my favorite party trick is to ask people
if in New Zealand was to fly to one more
international destination, where would it be And it's normally torn
between in there and the UK and so yeah, look
it's absolutely on the top of our radar. As you know, Mike,
we're a little short on aircraft just at the moment
with worldwide challenges, but that's going to change and we're

(03:20):
really looking forward to that.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Nice to talk to you appreciate it. Name Tories Walsh,
the India Business Delegation lead. For more from the Mic
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