A 65-member delegation from the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College in Wellington is on a study tour in India to enhance its military and strategic understanding of the region.
During the week-long defence diplomatic exercise, the delegation will visit five cities and interact with government officials, military commanders and industrialists to develop a better understanding of the Asia-Pacific region, which is strategically important to both countries.“This visit will deepen India-New Zealand defence ties with members of this delegation having a privileged perspective of India’s military and strategic priorities,” says Commodore Wayne Burroughs of the Royal New Zealand Navy, leader of the delegation.
The delegation will visit some of the India’s cultural and religious sites to take in some of the country’s heritage and diversity, an important element of the tour.
Such exchanges are part of the broadening defence cooperation between the two countries. Reflecting this trend, the delegation includes Major Malay Mishra of the Indian Army, who is studying at the New Zealand Defence Force Command and Staff College.
As a new initiative, a New Zealand Army Officer will attend the year-long National Defence College course in New Delhi in 2015.
“Interactions during this visit will impart more than the theoretical lessons in class about strategy, culture and strategic-culture and will also provide a different perspective of dynamics within Asia-Pacific,” Major Mishra says.
During the visit of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to India in 2011, both countries agreed to strengthen defence cooperation and as a follow-up, New Zealand appointed a Defence Adviser in India.
