PM Modi, let me say on behalf of 5 million New Zealanders, you are worth the wait: PM Luxon

AUCKLAND: New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday (local time) hailed Prime Minister Modi’s visit as a “historic milestone”, saying it marked the first time in 40 years that an Indian Prime Minister had set foot on New Zealand soil.

Addressing the Indian community event in Auckland, Luxon gave PM Modi a warm welcome and said, “Tonight, New Zealand makes history. For the first time in 40 years, an Indian Prime Minister stands on New Zealand soil...Prime Minister Modi, let me say on behalf of 5 million New Zealanders, you are worth the wait.”

Reflecting on his long association with India, Luxon recalled his first visit to the country in the 1990s while working for Hindustan Unilever and contrasted the India he witnessed then with the country today.

He said, “I first experienced your country long before I entered politics. I was in my mid-20s as a young executive with Hindustan Unilever. That was when I first visited India. In those days, I observed workers being paid at the end of each day, often with a handful of coins because a day’s wage was counted in coins.”

Praising India’s rapid economic and social transformation over the past three decades, the New Zealand Prime Minister said every visit to India leaves him impressed by its progress.

He said, “.Look at India today...Every single time I go, I am struck all over again by the remarkable energy, the dynamism and the innovation of the Indian people. The transformation that Prime Minister Modi has led takes my breath away. India now has one of the largest middle classes in the world, with 445 million people and still growing. With those higher incomes, families can enjoy better food, take holidays, send their children to study and save for retirement. That is one of the greatest advances in human dignity the world has ever seen. Prime Minister Modi, it has happened under your leadership.” (ANI)

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