President wraps up 6-day visit to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea

President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday left for home from here, wrapping up his six-day visit to Papua New Guinea and the New Zealand. He met the top leaders of the two countries and inked a few important deals as part of India’s ‘Act East’ policy.

In New Zealand, Mukherjee talked about cooperation towards agriculture, dairy, food processing, education and skill development as well as high technology between the two countries.

During the course of the visit, India and the New Zealand also signed a deal that opens the door for direct flights between the two countries with an aim to boost tourism and trade sectors. Mukherjee’s trip is the first high-level visit from India in 20 years after Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to the island nation. Prominent among whom he met here include New Zealand Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae and Prime Minister John Key. Earlier, as part of his two-day maiden state visit to PNG, the President had sought for freedom of navigation, saying sea lanes of communications should be devoid of tension and rivalry.

The two nations, as part of measures to strengthen bilateral ties and ensuring energy security, signed a few agreements even as India offered a $100-million line of credit for development of infrastructure in PNG and agreed to jointly develop avenues of cooperation to explore and develop the Pacific nation’s vast oil and gas resources.

India also offered the country its technology, financial wherewithal, skilled manpower and institutional support to harness the mineral-rich country’s abundant natural resources and establish mutually beneficial economic and commercial ventures. In PNG, Mukherjee met his counterpart Sir Michael Ogio.