India, July 14 -- By Sahil Pandey

Rotorua [New Zealand], July 14 (ANI): New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Investment Todd McClay has expressed confidence that the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will come into force before the end of the year, saying the landmark pact will pave the way for achieving the ambitious NZ 7 billion bilateral trade target by 2030 while also enabling direct air connectivity between the two countries within the next one to two years.

In an interview with ANI, McClay described the FTA as the "first and most important stepping stone" towards expanding economic ties, saying it would provide immediate benefits to Indian exporters through zero-duty market access.

"The signing of the Free Trade Agreem...