Tánaiste Simon Harris has welcomed the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar, to Dublin today, 7 March, for bilateral talks.
The meeting marked the first visit by an Indian Foreign Minister to Ireland and was the first high-level political visit from India to Ireland since the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
Two-way trade between India and Ireland has shown strong growth, with combined goods and services trade in the region of €16 billion/1.4 trillion Indian Rupees in 2023. The Tánaiste and Minister Jaishankar discussed a number of bilateral matters, including their agreement to establish a Joint Economic Commission (JEC) between Ireland and India. The move builds on longstanding links and cooperation between the two countries and offers an opportunity to consult on trade and economic issues and increase awareness of both countries and their respective economic priorities among key decision makers.
The Tánaiste said: “I was delighted to welcome the Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, to Iveagh House for a working breakfast meeting. We discussed the growing bilateral relationship between Ireland and India, including opportunities to enhance further links in trade and investment cooperation. India is the largest democracy in the world and an important partner of Ireland which shares a range of interests including a commitment to multilateralism and rules-based global trade.
“I was pleased earlier this week to secure Government approval for adoption of an Action Plan for enhancing Ireland’s engagement with India. This is a clear demonstration of Ireland’s commitment to deepening our engagement with India as a key bilateral partner. The agreement sets out a broad range of measures under four strategic goals which will be pursued and implemented by relevant Government Departments and agencies. The first practical outworking of this Plan was the signature earlier today of a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic exchange of officials which I very warmly welcome.
“My meeting with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar also saw agreement in principle to establish a Joint Economic Commission between Ireland and India, similar to those which we have with a number of other strategic partners. The establishment of a JEC is a fitting way to progress the increasingly important trade and economic relationship between Ireland and India, following the celebration of 75 years of bilateral relations in 2024.
“The JEC, once established, will serve as a vehicle to enhance internal cooperation and coordination and strengthen our likeminded partnership with one of the largest economies in the world, and one with huge potential for increased bilateral trade and investment.
“Minister Jaishankar and I also discussed a range of bilateral issues including Ireland and India’s cultural and people-to-people links, our engagement with India as committed members of the European Union and global issues such as 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 agreed that by working more closely together at the multilateral level, we can better address bilateral and global issues in a mutually beneficial manner.”
