Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon on Monday evening visited Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi and paid obeisance. The two leaders, sporting yellow scarves, bowed before the Guru Granth Sahib and paid obeisance at the Sikh shrine. The New Zealand prime minister began a five-day visit to India on Sunday with a focus on deepening the bilateral trade and economic ties.
"PM Modi later shared pictures of their visit to the gurdwara on X. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and I visited Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, a place of profound faith and history. The Sikh community's unwavering commitment to service and humanity is truly admirable across the world.@chrisluxonmp," he wrote on the social media platform.
Earlier, New Zealand on Monday inked an ambitious pact to institutionalise defence ties and vowed to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged concerns to his Kiwi counterpart Christopher Luxon over certain pro-Khalistani elements indulging in anti-India activities in the island nation.
Following talks between Modi and Luxon, the two sides signed six agreements to ramp up cooperation in several areas including education, sports, agriculture and climate change, and decided to prepare a roadmap for cooperation in the defence industry sector.
Both prime ministers welcomed the launch of negotiations for a "balanced, ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial" free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries to achieve deeper economic integration.