By Ranjana Narayan
New Delhi, Mar 18 (UNI) With a focus on enhancing trade, education and tech ties, Ireland is looking to scale up relations with India in a big way, especially following External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent visit, Irish Minister James Lawless has said.
In order to keep up the momentum of high-level visits, Ireland is looking forward to welcoming President Droupadi Murmu to the country very soon and also having many more ministerial visits from Ireland, Lawless, who is Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, told UNI.
Minister Lawless, who is part of the new coalition government formed in January this year, said he is excited to be in India on his first visit.
“I am visiting Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai over the course of the week as part of the trade mission and looking forward to deepening the friendship between our two countries.”
Minister Lawless’ visit to India on St Patrick’s Day (March 17) holds special significance as in Ireland “we celebrate it by going to our partners and friends”, signifying India.
Following EAM’s visit to Ireland last month, during which the two met and held talks, the two countries plan to take forward the ties in a big way, he said.
“I think we are going to scale up relations, and we are very keen to engage with India as a strategic partner. Globally we are aware of India’s success, as the most populous country, with the fifth largest economy in the world, and you have a very fast-growing GDP. So we want to participate and collaborate with India further and further,” he added.
On upcoming high-level bilateral visits, he said: “We are hoping to have a head of state visit, for the Indian President to visit Ireland. There’s an invitation there…We are just looking at the scheduling required; we are also hoping to have many ministerial visits to India as well,” he added.
Ireland is hoping to scale up the cooperation in the field of education. There are 9,000 Indian students in Ireland, who form the single largest group of international students in Irish universities, he added.
Highlighting the advantages for Indian students in pursuing higher education in Ireland, Minister Lawless said Ireland offers a visa programme that allows students to remain in Ireland and work for between one to two years.
“For undergraduates it is one year, for post-graduates for two years, so they can find work afterwards while staying in Ireland.
“We have very high employment, and great skills demand,” he said, adding that Indian students can find work “very quickly” in fields like STEM, life sciences, innovation, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, among others.
The Minister, who visited IIT Delhi on Monday and would be visiting other such top Indian educational institutions, said they are looking to deepen collaboration in terms of academic work, research collaboration and partnerships.
In the field of trade collaboration, he said that Ireland is looking to encourage Indian companies looking to locate in Ireland.
“We are an English-speaking country, we are a common law country, and we are a proud member of the European Union, but we also have close ties to the UK and the USA. So, I think we are a good location for international trade with that part of the world.”
The bilateral trade relationship is worth euro 16 billion, he said, adding “I am looking to develop the trade relationship.”
Ireland is a key European hub for Indian businesses, particularly in sectors like IT, pharmaceuticals, financial services, and advanced manufacturing. Major Indian companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra operate in Ireland, with the country serving as a gateway for Indian firms expanding into the European market.
Ireland is also witnessing increased collaboration with Indian firms in innovation, R&D, and emerging technologies, particularly in MedTech, fintech, AI, and life sciences.
The number of Indian diaspora members living in Ireland is around 100,000, which is significant considering Ireland’s population is around 5-6 million, he added.
“The Indians have done well in Ireland, they are welcomed and are very much part of the community, and have been very successful.”
UNI RN