New Delhi:India and Ireland are in the process of negotiations over the establishment of a joint economic commission with expectation of announcing it by the end of this year. Such a commission is one of several bilateral initiatives that could serve as a stepping stone to a strategic partnership agreement sometime in the near future.
The commission will aim at boosting trade and commerce between the two countries which currently stands at 10 billion dollars. Incidentally, the total trade in both goods and services have doubled between India and Ireland over the last decade.
India currently has over 30 such agreements with countries such as France, America, the UK and Russia. While India signed its first strategic partnership agreement with France in 1997—which was also its first with a European country—it has looked to expand its cooperation with the continent in recent years. In 2023, India signed two such agreements with Italy and Greece.
Ireland considers India “front and centre” in the Asia-Pacific region, as was made clear during Foreign Secretary Joe Hackett’s visit to New Delhi this January. During Hackett’s trip, a Hindi translation of Dublin’s Asia-Pacific Strategy was launched as part of the country’s pivot towards India.
There are about 100,000 Indians living and working in the European country, which is about 2 percent of the total population. Ireland has increasingly become a destination for Indian students, with around 10,000 studying there currently. Ireland is also the second-largest country for Indian students in the European Union (EU) after Germany.
Dublin’s aim to position itself as a welcoming country saw its Embassy launch an “affinity diaspora” network Wednesday for Indians who lived there but have since returned home.
The network was launched by Manoj Bhargava, Chair of the Ireland-India Affinity Diaspora Network Committee, along with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd.
At the launch, Ambassador Kevin Kelly said, “This network embodies the special bond between Ireland and India, offering a dynamic platform for us to celebrate our shared history and vibrant cultural connections.”
Dublin’s embassy in India was its first in Asia, established in 1964. This year also marks 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Though there are no high-level delegation visits expected in the remainder of this year, Irish President Michael D. Higgins has invited President Droupadi Murmu for a state visit, which is expected in the near future.
Disclosure: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is among the distinguished founder-investors of ThePrint. Please click here for details on investors.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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