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

The 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 the 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 the 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 trade and investment, especially energy, IT, pharma and auto sector." In the following Tweet, he wrote, "Our close cooperation in multilateral fora will be strengthened."

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 had maintained an upward trend in trade. He urged continuing efforts to boost trade in high-potential areas such as IT, pharmaceuticals, autos and auto parts, chemicals and textiles. Naidu encouraged Colombia to join the International Solar Alliance, India's key endeavour in the fight against climate change.

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

India-Colombia relations

On January 19, 1959, India and Colombia established formal diplomatic ties. Colombia and India signed a trade 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 the following year, India opened an embassy in Bogotá. The Bogotá embassy was closed in 1993, then reopened in 1994. Colombia's embassy in India also manages diplomatic ties with Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh and provides consular aid to Colombians living there.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: Twitter/@DrSJaishankar