EAM Jaishankar meets Colombia FM Ramirez, agrees to focus on health, biotech and space

signing of agreements between India and Colombia was witnessed on Saturday by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Colombian counterpart Marta Lucia Ramirez. According to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Colombian Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia Lucia Ramirez is on a four-day visit to India for extensive engagements encompassing all facets of bilateral ties. Science and technology, vaccine research and biotechnology will be discussed, according to MEA.

EAM Jaishankar took to microblogging site Twitter and wrote, "Wide ranging discussions on our expanding partnership with Colombian VP and FM @mluciaramirez. Agreed to focus more on health, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and space. Will give impetus to our tre and investment, especially energy, IT, pharma and auto sector." In following Tweet, he wrote, "Our close cooperation in multilateral fora will be strengned."

Luca Ramrez meets Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu

Marta Luca Ramrez also met with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi yesterday and extended an invitation to visit Colombia. Naidu stated on this occasion that despite global challenges, both countries h maintained an upward trend in tre. He urged continuing efforts to boost tre in high-potential areas such as IT, pharmaceuticals, autos and auto parts, chemicals and textiles. Naidu encouraged Colombia to join International Solar Alliance, India's key endeavour in fight against climate change.

Representatives from both countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Space Cooperation during meeting, according to Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) Meenakshi Lekhi. Lekhi also met Lucia Ramirez last month to boost bilateral ties between two countries.

India-Colombia relations

On January 19, 1959, India and Colombia established formal diplomatic ties. Colombia and India signed a tre agreement on July 14, 1970, but it never materialised due to both nations' economic prohibitions on foreign goods and geopolitical concerns. Colombia did not open an embassy in New Delhi, India, until March 1972. In following year, India opened an embassy in Bogotá. Bogotá embassy was closed in 1993, n reopened in 1994. Colombia's embassy in India also manages diplomatic ties with Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Banglesh and provides consular aid to Colombians living re.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: Twitter/@DrSJaishankar