Prez invites New Zealand to participate in 'Make in India'

Auckland (New Zealand): Asserting that India presents a picture of optimism and economic success, President Pranab Mukherjee has invited New Zealand to participate in the 'Make in India' initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

"The flagship programmes, 'Skill India', 'Make InIndia'and 'Digital India' are but a few of the many sectors where India has liberalized the regulations to encourage investment inflows and where India welcomes the foreign participation, " said President Mukherjee while addressing the students at Auckland University Of Technology here.

"Ours is the fastest growing major economy in the world - with an estimated growth rate of 7.6 per cent in the year 2015-16. The World Bank estimates that this will accelerate to 7.8 percent and 7.9 percent in the next two years. There are great prospects for New Zealand's participation in our growth," he added.

Pressing that two countries have shared stakes in a peaceful, cooperative and prosperous Asia-Pacific region, President Mukherjee urged New Zealand's partnership in promoting security, stability and prosperity in the region.

"We believe that this is a region of huge opportunity - where we can successfully work as partners in promoting security, stability and prosperity. India values her co-operation with New Zealand at the United Nations and other multilateral fora. We have a shared interest in keeping maritime lanes open in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean Region and convergence of foreign policy positions on various regional and global issues," he said.

Stating that New Zealand is well known for ingenuity and innovation, he invited the academicians from the universities of New Zealand to participate in the next Festival of Innovation, which will be held in March 2017 at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

The Indian President is on a three-day visit to New Zealand after completing his landmark visit to Papua New Guinea.