Wellington, Feb 16 India is a priority relationship for New Zealand, Prime Minister John Key said on Tuesday while welcoming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

A member of the Indian parliament, Gandhi is visiting New Zealand as the inaugural Sir Edmund Hillary Fellow, a fund set up to recognise the contributions the conqueror of Mount Everest made to relations between the two countries and Nepal.

The aim of the fellowship is to build a constituency for New Zealand among the emerging leaders of India and Nepal, Key said.

He said that India's leading regional and international status and its economic significance made it strategically important to New Zealand.

Key said that talks with Gandhi would focus on key areas of the relationship, including the prospect of negotiating a bilateral free trade pact.

He said that Gandhi, making his first visit to New Zealand, would see innovations in the hi-tech dairy and livestock industries, visit adventure tourism operations and be shown special features of New Zealand's educational, science and research institutions during his stay.