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NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon talking with media at the ITC Maurya Sheraton hotel in New Delhi, India.

Photo/The Indian News NZ Facebook page

Opinion

Will's Word: Can Luxon finally crack open India’s trade doorway?

Christopher Luxon revives trade talks with India, shifting focus from dairy to new industries. William Terite asks whether he can break a decade-long stalemate and secure a game-changing deal?

There's that good old song, ‘Here comes the Sun’, you know it?

Because after a decade of stalled talks, Christopher Luxon is hoping to bring a little light to New Zealand's trade relationship with India.

Now fresh off the plane in New Delhi, he's calling the restart of a free trade negotiation as a "breakthrough".

And sure, for a bit of context, there's a mountain of dairy-related drama ahead but as they say hope springs eternal.

India is the world's largest milk producer and it has always been wary of letting Kiwi dairy flood its market and that's why it's been a deal breaker in past talks.

But apparently this time, trade experts are suggesting there's a different approach and maybe that's what's getting us the momentum. We're easing off the cheese talk and focusing on other industries.

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Our commander-in-chief isn't backing down as well insisting that we "wouldn't have kicked this off if we weren't confident".

That's some big talk there by Luxon, the man has got to deliver. He campaigned on this during the election campaign.

Now, you might be listening this morning and thinking, well, why does this matter to me?

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Free trade agreements surprisingly do matter a great deal to the New Zealand economy.

We have a number of free trade agreements in place across the globe and so it does us well to be connected with the world when it comes to trade. And India we could certainly benefit from.

We've got to bolster our economy people. That's what's going to lead us to prosperity, not handouts. And to be fair he's got a point.

Progress has to start somewhere and cracking open the door is better than keeping it slammed shut.

Certainly that's how it's felt the past few years with this relationship with India.

Here's the real test for Luxon now though.

NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon touches down in New Delhi ahead of a four-day state visit to India. Photo/The Indian News NZ Facebook Page

He's got to get this deal across the line. Will he actually be able to pull it off though, is another story.

But for now, let's all collectively hum along to the Beatles' song and hope the sun really is coming.

That's Will's Word.