As Modi visits Auckland, Congress recalls ex-Kiwi PM David Lange’s role in reviving India-NZ ties: Who was he?

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his New Zealand visit, the Congress on 11 July invoked the legacy of former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, recalling that he had helped reset and strengthen bilateral ties with India after taking office in 1984.

“The prime minister’s visit to New Zealand brings back memories of a remarkable man who was key to transforming India-New Zealand relations,” Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said.

David Lange was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989.

Who was David Lange?

Leading the Fourth Labour Government, Lange became the country’s youngest prime minister of the 20th century at age 41. He was globally renowned for his sharp wit, exceptional oratory skills, and his government’s fierce anti-nuclear stance.

Upon taking office as prime minister of New Zealand, Lange chose India for his very first official overseas visit in October 1984. Lange struck an immediate, natural rapport with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during his 1984 visit. Following her tragic assassination later that month, Lange developed an exceptionally warm and close personal friendship with her successor, with Rajiv Gandhi.

His son Roy then began his lifelong passion for India. He graduated from the Delhi University and later married Mita Bhowmick, who is now a well-known filmmaker in Australia, Ramesh said in a post on X.

“It was David Lange who revived the bilateral relationship that had been productive in the 1950s with New Zealand assisting in developing India’s dairy industry and also in establishing AIIMS in New Delhi,” he said.

The government of India sent the key architect of the White Revolution, V Kurien, on a fellowship to New Zealand between October 1952 and April 1953, a visit that was to have a profound influence on him, Ramesh said.

But in the 1960s and 1970s, the ties cooled off till Lange became the prime minister in July 1984, Ramesh added.

In what is widely regarded as an inspired diplomatic appointment, Lange named legendary mountaineer as Edmund Hillary as New Zealand’s high commissioner.

“A road in New Delhi’s diplomatic enclave bears his name while another honours Tenzing Norgay, who along with Hillary were the first to scale Mount Everest on May 29, 1953,” the Congress leader recalled.

Lange passed away from heart failure on August 13, 2005, at the age of 63

PM Modi’s New Zealand Visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a visit to New Zealand, where after meeting his counterpart Christopher Luxon, the two leaders elevated bilateral ties between the two nations to a strategic partnership and set a five-year target to double their annual bilateral trade in goods and services to ₹35,000 crore by 2030.

The meeting yielded 18 concrete outcomes, including 10 agreements. Key among them were a roadmap to expand ties in the next four years, a framework for enhancing Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation, and a reciprocal logistics support pact between the Indian Navy and the New Zealand Defence Force.

“We have decided to elevate our ties to a strategic partnership. We will move forward across every sector with clear goals and concrete outcomes,” Modi said after the talks.

A joint statement noted that Modi and Luxon exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific, reaffirming their shared commitment to a free, open and prosperous region.

They also emphasised the importance of safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rules-based international order. The two sides also agreed to establish a maritime security dialogue to strengthen cooperation, coordination and information exchange.

PM Modi landed in Auckland on Friday night in the third and final leg of his three-nation tour that also included visits to Indonesia and Australia. The visit came following the recent signing of the India New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA).