Local MP makes global impression at Indo-Pacific summit

As a Member of Parliament in his fourth term, Stuart Smith has met his share of prime ministers. But even by MP standards, he had a moment of a lifetime at the recent Indo-Pacific trade summit.

Stuart, invited to the NXT Summit 2026 as a keynote speaker and a panellist, found himself positioned for the official photo next to a white X on the red carpet. He soon discovered the centre spot was reserved for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I don’t know why they put me there,” Stuart said Monday morning in his Blenheim office, two weeks after the fateful placement. He expects his position as head of the New Zealand delegation and his remarks on Kiwi-Indian relations may have played into it.

Regardless of the rationale, he now has had “the great honour and privilege” to greet the head of state from the most populous country in the world.

All the dignitaries needed to go through additional security screening and wear a proximity pass in the chamber.

The PM and the MP did not speak extensively, but Stuart already delivered a “clear” message on New Zealand’s behalf in his opening-day address: “We are committed to building a deeper, broader, and more enduring relationship with India, one that spans trade, innovation, security, culture, sport, and people-to-people connections.”

Broader backdrop
The 12-14 March summit unfolded against the backdrop of Middle East hostilities.
At that point, the U.S.-Iran War was in its second week – and with shipping disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz, energy proved a focus of conversations.

“Obviously it was very topical,” Stuart relayed. Both in talks and his talk, “the point that I made was that energy security has been taken lightly, particularly in the West. China has lots of storage of crude oil and resources, and unfortunately the West has just taken it for granted [by assuming] that it will come when we want it and we’ll just pay the price for it.

“With the ability of hindsight, that’s not necessarily the best position to be in. But it goes beyond energy; it’s also supply chains of critical minerals and fertiliser and all sorts of things the general public take for granted – and I think politicians and officials shouldn’t take for granted, but they have. So, we’re playing catch-up.”

Stuart came to the summit with two other MPs, Rachel Brooking and Tangi Utikere, and sat on a panel about trade along with making his 10-minute address.

“I think one of the positive things that will come out of this [global energy crisis] is no one will want to repeat this mistake again,” he added. “That will last maybe for decades, and then people will probably forget and think it costs too much to keep these levels of storage.”