Indian PM Modi visits New Zealand amid intense trade friction.

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Wellington: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Zealand on Friday to promote a controversial bilateral free trade agreement. This trip marks the first official state visit by an Indian leader to the island nation in forty years.

Although New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon heavily championed the deal to unlock jobs and investments, the pact triggered severe political friction within his own government.

Populist lawmakers inside New Zealand's governing coalition are fiercely opposing the agreement over clauses regarding migration and visas. A government minister caused widespread outrage by publicly warning against a massive influx of Indian migrants.

Additionally, a local evangelical preacher faced harsh condemnation from the race relations commissioner after publishing hostile religious slurs online.

Anthropologists stated that South Asians remain the most frequent targets of racially motivated incidents across the country. Despite these domestic tensions, Modi will address a massive gathering of ten thousand Indian diaspora members at an arena in Auckland.