John Key and wife visit Taj Mahal

JOHN HARTEVELT PICTURE PERFECT: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and his wife, Bronagh, pose in front of the Taj Mahal.

Prime Minister John Key and wife Bronagh got the royal treatment in India today, with the historic Taj Mahal cleared for a private visit.

The Keys, who were given a personal tour guide around the 350-year old palace, were wowed by the setting. And they got their own picture in the famous spot where Princess Diana was snapped in 1992.

The two even stole a kiss after being prompted by the media.

"It's remarkable," Key said. "It's a privilege to be here and see it."

Key said it was even more impressive than he had expected.

"Obviously you come with very high expectations but it meets all of those."

Key is in India this week for bi-lateral talks and has a large commercial contingent travelling with him. He will carry on later today to engagements in New Delhi, including a cricket event with former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming.

FREE TRADE

Key is due to meet Indian PM Manmohan Singh for trade talks tomorrow.

However, back home, Labour leader Phil Goff has said today that signing off on a free trade agreement with India would be harder than completing a deal with China.

Goff was trade minister when negotiations on an FTA with India began but said today that it would not be easy.

Indian tariffs were much higher than those that existed in China and there was a long history of protectionism, he said.

"I don't think it's going to be easy, but we wouldn't have gone into it if we didn't think we could succeed. We went into it, we laid the foundation and we're supporting this Government growing that foundation."

The market in India held a lot of potential for New Zealand businesses, particularly in the area of food security and commodities for the growing middle class there.

"In India there's been 10 other free trade agreements, the European Community is about to complete theirs, so we'll be following in the footsteps of others, but it'll still be important to us and those people that export apples, wine, dairy and other things that face big tariffs at the moment."

The difference with China was not only that there were higher tariffs in India but that we we're the first Western country to complete an FTA with China, Mr Goff said.

"We still have that first player advantage ... been a huge opportunity for us which is why it distresses me hugely for David Mahon to be saying that we squandered that opportunity.

"That's a real worry. I think the Government should be taking that seriously and the Government needs to intervene to sort that out," he said.

Mahon was the chair of the China Beachhead advisory board until he and the other board members resigned en masse last week following a clash with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

He said at the time that New Zealand was failing to make the most of the FTA with China and there were policy failings that led to its dispute.

Goff said Mahon was a "shining light" for New Zealand in China.

"The free trade agreement opened up the door to trade but I said at the time we've got to make sure the Government and private sector are working together to go through that door and with this sort of shock resignation, and obviously a huge amount of ill will between the advisory board and the Government, this is something that John Key needs to address personally and put to rights," he said.