S Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, will meet Tánaiste and his Irish counterpart Simon Harris on March 7 to discuss bilateral ties between both nations and broader EU-India relations, as well as exchange views on foreign policy issues and global challenges.
Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Ireland, will also interact with the Indian diaspora in Dublin today evening at 18.45 GMT. Watch here LIVE
The meeting assumes significance as this will be the first high-level visit from India since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
Ahead of the meeting, Harris said: “We will discuss the government’s priorities for strengthening our relationship with India, as outlined in Ireland’s Asia Pacific Strategy, and following our recent celebration of 75 years of bilateral relations. Minister Jaishankar’s visit also provides an opportunity to recognise the many historic and cultural links between our countries, as well as the growing and vibrant Indian community in Ireland who make such an important contribution to Irish society.”
“Two-way trade between Ireland and India continues to grow substantially each year. India is also recognised as an increasingly important strategic partner for the EU with significant negotiations underway to conclude a Free Trade Agreement. Such an Agreement, if concluded, would I believe be of significant mutual benefit to both sides with Ireland well placed to capitalise on the increased trade and investment opportunities arising.
“We also have many global issues to discuss including Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the situations in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region, and common challenges such as climate change. We will discuss how we can best work together at a multilateral level to continue to uphold the values of democracy and of rule of law and in support of conflict resolution globally,” Harris added.
In 2023, Ireland had a combined total trade with India of €16 billion, a significant increase from approximately €10 billion in 2022.