New Delhi, July 11 -- India and New Zealand on Saturday elevated their relations to a strategic partnership and set a target of increasing trade in goods and services to Rs.35,000 crore (US$4 billion) by 2030 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Christopher Luxon pledged to deepen cooperation in trade and security and strengthen a rules-based Indo-Pacific.

New Zealand was the final destination of Modi's three-nation tour, which also included Indonesia and Australia and was focused on forging closer economic and strategic ties with key players in the Indo-Pacific region amid continuing volatility and uncertainty on the global stage. Modi was the first Indian premier to visit New Zealand in four decades.

The two sides concl...