NEW DELHI: India and New Zealand today decided to amend the bilateral tax treaty and expressed commitment to work towards a comprehensive free trade agreement with a view to boost economic ties.
The two sides also vowed to press for successful negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), said the joint statement issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with New Zealand counterpart John Key.
The two-way trade between the countries stood at USD 1.8 billion, showing an increase of 42 pct in the past five years.
"The Prime Ministers expressed their wish for greater bilateral trade and investment," said the joint statement.
The two countries also agreed to amend "the bilateral Double Taxation Agreement to bring its tax cooperation provisions into line with international best-practice".
India has been revising double taxation avoidance pacts with countries with a view to check tax evasion and bring them in line with OECD norms.
As regards the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the statement said both sides committed to work towards a "high-quality, comprehensive and balanced bilateral FTA which would deliver meaningful commercial outcomes to both sides.
They vowed to ensure that India and New Zealand contribute to a high-quality, comprehensive outcome to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, of which both countries are parties.
The RCEP talks started in Phnom Penh in November 2012. The 16 countries account for over a quarter of the world's economy, estimated to be more than USD 75 trillion.
The 16-member bloc RCEP comprises 10 Asean members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
At their meeting today, the two countries also announced conclusion of a Food Safety Cooperation Arrangement to encourage greater coordination between New Zealand and Indian food safety authorities, and supporting more efficient trade in food products, the statement said.
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At the business meet, Key also touched upon the emergence of Asia as the powerhouse of economic growth saying India was an enormous part of it.
"Technology is changing the world, your government wants to go paperless. The purpose of your government in what is going around GST is to get rid of paper and to make life easier for businesses," he said.
According to Meghwal, among the areas discussed between the two Prime Ministers for enhancing bilateral cooperation are agricultural research, dairy farming, water and waste management, animal husbandry, food processing, Swacch Bharat, smart cities, tourism and student education.
He said the government has taken many initiatives towards improving the ease of doing business in the country.
"We are hopeful that GST will be applicable from 1 April 2017, that is also a very good measure for ease of doing business," the Minister said, adding that the government was "very much concerned" about the ease of doing business in the country.
"I am hopeful that in the coming months in ease of doing business India will also grow," Meghwal said.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said India "will try to emulate" New Zealand's example on the ease of doing business.
In the World Bank's latest 'Doing Business' report, India's place remained unchanged from last year's original ranking of 130 among the 190 economies that were assessed on various parameters. However, the last year's ranking has been now revised to 131 from which the country has improved its place by one spot.
The list of countries in the Doing Business 2017 is topped by New Zealand while Singapore is ranked second.
Kant said that by 2020, India will be the only country in the world having a billion smartphones which presents a possibility of India becoming a cashless economy by 2024-25.
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Five MoUs were also signed in the presence of the New Zealand Prime Minister. These include an agreement between Zindia Ltd and Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd; InterGlobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) and CTC Aviation Group Limited; Media Design School with Pearl Academy; Ara Institute of Canterbury and Kumaraguru College of Technology; and an agreement between University of Otago and BSE Institute Ltd.
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