Former India captain Ajinkya Rahane is heading to Auckland next month as part of a two-day summit bringing together business, government, sport and industry leaders from New Zealand and India.<\/p>\n
Rahane is among the headline speakers at the New Zealand-India Business, Sport and Innovation Summit on November 12 and 13, alongside Indian High Commissioner Muanpuii Saiawi, Air New Zealand chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar, entrepreneur Sir Ian Taylor and Tourism New Zealand chief executive Rene de Monchy.<\/p>\n
The summit will be held at Auckland University of Technology and the New Zealand International Convention Centre, with Dame Therese Walsh chairing the programme.<\/p>\n
Organisers say discussions will focus on how New Zealand organisations can engage more deeply with India, with sessions covering artificial intelligence, digital transformation, the M\u0101ori economy, education, talent and sport.<\/p>\n
Early-bird registration<\/a>\u00a0is priced at $350 plus GST, or $402.50 including GST, and is available until 5pm on October 21. Registration covers access to the full summit programme, with programme details also available at\u00a0nzindiasummit.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The summit is also part of the wider\u00a0100 Years of Unity Through Sport programme<\/a>, marking a century since an Indian Army hockey team toured New Zealand in 1926.<\/p>\n The tour is regarded as the starting point of formal sporting ties between the two countries. India played 21 matches in New Zealand with both the national and local teams. The opening match was at Lancaster Park in Christchurch on June 26, 1926.<\/p>\n The touring side included Dhyan Chand, later regarded as one of hockey\u2019s greatest players. Members of the team went on to form the core of Indian sides that won Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936.<\/p>\n Saiawi has\u00a0earlier said the centenary celebrations would include a series of bilateral sporting contests<\/a>, with more Indian teams travelling to New Zealand.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of these celebrations, there will be a lot of bilateral series involving various sports, including cricket, with many more Indian teams to come and play in New Zealand,\u201d she told Awaaz.<\/p>\n The Indian men\u2019s cricket team is set to play\u00a0one of the biggest inbound tours New Zealand has hosted<\/a>, with 12 internationals against the Black Caps across October and November.<\/p>\n The programme includes five T20s, five ODIs and two tests, making it the largest bilateral inbound cricket tour staged in New Zealand.<\/p>\n