India and New Zealand on Monday officially signed a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA), sealing what Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described as a “once-in-a-generation” pact that opens new pathways for trade in goods and services, investment flows, and labour mobility between the two countries.

The pact was formalised in the presence of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his New Zealand counterpart, Todd McClay.

“The fact that we are making businesses easier to set up, easier to work in India working towards reducing the compliance burden, ensuring simplicity in operations, ensuring a business climate that is trusting, that encourages investment, and also making sure that as a nation, we provide an environment that is business friendly, that is very inviting, and that it help you both grow and enjoy good profits in India,” Goyal said at the signing ceremony.

The trade minister invited businesses to invest in India as the country can serve as a corridor for expansion across the world, whether it’s Africa, whether it’s Latin America, whether it’s central Asia, or the US or Europe. “This can become your gateway to the entire world,” he noted.