BOGOTA: Meeting between External Affairs Minister and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia

BOGOTA: Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar held a bilateral dialogue with Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia H.E. Ms. Marta Lucia Ramirez on 2 October. Ms. Ramirez is leading a 48 member health and science and technology delegation to India from 1-3 October 2021.

 She is accompanied by Dr. Luiz Fernando Ruiz, Minister of Health and Social Protection, government officials, representatives from business and educational institutions. EAM had earlier met Ms. Ramirez on the side-lines of UNGA-76 on 25th September 2021.

The leaders held a comprehensive dialogue covering sectors such as Health, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Space. Regional and international issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting. EAM underlined India’s priorities with respect to UN reforms. The leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in multilateral fora.

There has been a steady growth in bilateral trade between India and Colombia which stood at USD 2.27 billion in 2020-21, despite the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Both sides agreed to work together to further promote trade and investment in energy, IT, pharmaceuticals and automobile sectors.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of two Letters of Intent for cooperation in the fields of biotechnology and medical research. These were signed by the Department of Biotechnology and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with their Colombian counterparts.

Before the arrival of VP Ramirez, a business delegation headed by Dr. Luiz Fernando Ruiz, Minister of Health and Social Protection travelled to Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru from 27-30 September. They visited centres of excellence and pharmaceutical companies in these cities with the objective of exploring co-production and technology transfers in the development of vaccines and pharmaceutical products. They also visited ISRO facilities and met representatives from New Space India Limited (NSIL) and the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC).

During the meeting, the two sides welcomed the recent momentum in high level engagements and agreed to enhance their cooperation in identified areas for mutual benefit.