India, Ireland explore new areas of collaboration

Indian External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar on Thursday met Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Simon Coveney and the two held discussions on forging new avenues of collaboration between the two nations.

Jaishankar expressed his pleasure at meeting Coveney and highlighted the positive exchange regarding potential areas for partnership between India and Ireland.

The meeting touched upon various domains of mutual interest, particularly focusing on exploring opportunities for collaboration in emerging sectors.

Additionally, the conversation extended to global affairs, with both ministers sharing views on pressing international issues. Among these topics were the situations in Gaza and Ukraine.

India-Ireland interactions date back to the 19th century when a significant number of Irishmen joined the British Civil Service, medical, engineering and army services.

The formal diplomatic links between the two countries were established in 1947. India opened it's Embassy in Dublin in 1951.

In terms of bilateral trade, India's total trade in goods with Ireland for April 2021 to March 2022 is USD 1823.76 mn. India's exports to Ireland stood at USD 687.95 mn and imports from Ireland at USD 1135.81 mn, according to Department of Commerce EXIM data bank.

The Indian Embassy in Dublin has been encouraging Irish companies to engage in major flagship programmes like "Make in India", "Digital India", "Clean India" and "Smart Cities," according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

(ANI)