Congratulations to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a resounding election result. As you begin your second term in Government, we look forward to working with you to continue to broaden and deepen New Zealand-India relations. Both countries share a close and enduring relationship reinforced by our people-to-people links. We share democratic values and a Commonwealth heritage, and our connections are only growing stronger through trade, tourism, education and of course, cricket! New Zealand has a vibrant Indian diaspora that has been making productive contributions to our economy and society. The Indian-origin community accounts for nearly 4 per cent of our population, and in Auckland, that figure is as high as 8 per cent. It's no wonder that Hindi is our fourth-most spoken language, after English, Maori and Samoan. Three of our MPs are of Indian origin and so is one of our former Governors-General. I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Indian authorities on delivering the world's biggest election. It is no ordinary feat to ensure that 900 million eligible voters can exercise their foremost democratic right-the right to vote-freely. We admire the strong commitment to democratic principles that this reflects

-H.E. Ms Joanna Kempkers (High Commissioner of New Zealand to India)