On 8th August, 2024, President Droupadi Murmu met New Zealand’s Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters for a discussion on strengthening the existing bilateral relations between India and New Zealand across different sectors.
Ms. Murmu arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday (August 7, 2024) as her second destination country of her three-nation tour where she was received with Royal Guard of Honour.
According to the President’s Office post on X, “President Droupadi Murmu held a meeting with Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro of New Zealand. Both leaders hailed the warm and friendly relationship between the two countries and discussed cooperation across various sectors.”
Later on President Murmu was called upon by Winston Peters who is also the Foreign Minister.
In this regard, her office said that “Both leaders acknowledged the progress in bilateral relations and deliberated upon ways of enhancing cooperation in several areas.”
She also spoke at a function organized by New Zealand International Education Conference held in Wellington.
During her address, she talked about how education can empower people to make positive changes in their lives.
“Education has always been close to my heart. I have seen and experienced first-hand, the transformative power of education. Education is not just an individual endeavour but also a vehicle for social change and nation building,” she said
India’s education system plays a pivotal role in its development today.
As she pointed out “India has produced leaders in diverse fields who are contributing not only in India but also around the world.”
“Today we have India young aspirations demographically motivated towards acquiring quality education,” remarked the President.
“It is indeed welcome that many Indian students are gaining access to quality education at various institutions here as Indian parents aspire for the best possible education for their children. There are currently 8,000 Indian students pursuing various courses across New Zealand – making it our second largest group of international students,” she added.
Ms. Murmu said that New Zealand is known for its quality education which has a strong research and innovation base, inclusive and excellent. The New Zealand Education Conference offers a great opportunity to continue strengthening the ongoing cooperation in education and also for exploring newer areas of cooperation she concluded.
