By Kunal DuttNew Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) Emphasising on the growingcultural and people-to-people ties between New Zealand andIndia, its envoy Joanna Kempkers said here today Hindi is nowthe "fourth most-spoken" language in her country.
"We both share common values, such as commonwealthheritage and democracy. And, also, the common language i.e.,English and now also Hindi," she said at an event here.
"In fact, Hindi is now the fourth most-spoken language.
Also, we have about 1,85,000 people belonging to the Indiancommunity, who are living in New Zealand and they arecontributing to the growth story of our country," Kempkerssaid.
She also emphasised that the inflow of Indian tourists toNew Zealand and the number of students going there are "on therise".
"In 2016, the number of Indian tourists who visited NewZealand stood at 58,000 while the corresponding figure fromNew Zealand to India was 66,000. Besides, the place is alsoattracting Bollywood," she told PTI on the sidelines of thethe New Zealand-India Sustainability Challenge 2017 here.
A few months ago, Education New Zealand, a governmentagency for international education, had signed up Bollywoodactor Kriti Sanon as its brand ambassador.
"We offer 35 scholarships to students (applying for ouruniversities) and after Kriti tweeted about it, the number ofapplication went up dramatically. So, we feel the connect,"the envoy added.
John Laxon, Education New Zealand's Regional Director -India, South East Asia and Middle East, also endorsed the risein the influx of students applying to universities in NewZealand.
"Indian students are increasingly choosing to study inNew Zealand. For the Januart-October period this year, therehas been a 24 per cent increase in student visas, compared tothe corresponding period last year," he told PTI.
In tourism sector, Kempkers said, people are choosing NewZealand as wedding destinations, shooting locales, and evencorporate groups are sending employees for recreational toursthere.
The population of New Zealand stands at about 4.5million, Laxon said and the Indian community forms about 4 percent of it.
"There are people hailing from different parts of India,who reside in the country, and so they speak, Hindi, Punjabi,Gujarati, and other languages," the envoy added. PTI KNDKJ.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.