Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) Blending cricket, the Taj Mahal and business, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key Monday said he was hopeful of concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and New Zealand as he began a three-day visit to the country.

Accompanied by senior ministers and officials, Key touched down in New Delhi Sunday night to begin his maiden visit to India that will also take him to Mumbai.

“We anticipate that by March 2012 the free trade agreement will conclude,” Key told reporters here. “We have had four or five rounds of negotiations, we will have four-five more rounds,” he said. He, however, added that the “quality” of the agreement mattered more - even if the negotiations took longer.

Key hoped that bilateral trade, which is currently around $1.2 billion, will double to around $3 billion by 2015.

He also said that agricultural exports from New Zealand may help in bringing down food down in India. “Supply of food products, especially dairy goods from New Zealand, may play a part in controlling food inflation in India,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Key and his spouse flew to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The couple kissed for the cameras while seated on the bench made famous by Princess Diana. They were given a guided tour of the mausoleum.

“It was a monument built by a man who loved his wife dearly, and as much as I love my wife I don’t think I’ll be building a replica of this in Auckland somehow,” Key said tongue-in-cheek.

In the evening, Key played a round of cricket with former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here.

On Tuesday, Key begins the official leg of the visit with a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan, followed by a meeting with President Pratibha Patil and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. He sits down for delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the evening where a slew of agreements related to trade and cultural exchanges are expected to be signed.

Pushing the proposed FTA will be on top of the agenda, a theme he is going to focus on his address to top businessmen of the country Tuesday afternoon. India is looking to harness New Zealand’s expertise in the agro- processing and cold chain sectors, an industry which could be potentially worth $200 billion in the next three years.

“We can also benefit from New Zealand’s known prowess in food processing, agricultural productivity, cold chains and the others,” Vishnu Prakash, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, told reporters. “And this explains the strong interest in both countries to conclude a FTA at the earliest,” he added.

It will be Bollywood time for Key and his team in Mumbai Wednesday. Key is expected to visit Film City in Mumbai and seek greater business ties between Bollywood and his country, which boasts of a world-class film industry and some of the most breathtakingly beautiful and diverse landscapes in the world.