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1 Embassy of India Dublin India-Ireland Relations India Embassy of India Dublin India-Ireland Relations India-Ireland interactions go back to the nineteenth century, when a significant number of Irishmen joined the British Civil Service and colonial army regiments in India. The colonial medical and engineering services had a large Irish content. During this period, Irish missionaries and educationists also spread out into all regions of India. Links were further strengthened by the connections between the nationalist movements of the two countries since the early years of the 20th century. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and the Irish leader Eamon De Valera were often in touch. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Vitthalbhai Patel were in regular correspondence with Irish nationalist leaders. There were contacts in other fields as well, most prominent among them being the close interaction between Nobel laureates Rabindranath Tagore and W.B. Yeats. The inherited memories of these multi-faceted contacts, the recent visibility of India in the world economy and Ireland’s interest in India as an investment and trade partner have contributed to the positive image of India among the Irish population. 2. Formal diplomatic links were established in 1947. India opened an Embassy in Dublin in 1951. The Irish Embassy in New Delhi was set up in 1964 and the Honorary Consulates in Mumbai and Bengaluru in 1976 and 2000 respectively. New Honorary Consulates have been established in Chennai and Kolkata in 2010. Enterprise Ireland and Investment Development Agency, two Government of Ireland enterprises have their presence in Mumbai. 3. An Air India aircraft – Kanishka – crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwestern coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985 in a terrorist bombing. The extraordinary level of solidarity, support and assistance extended by the local population to the victims’ families created a unique of bond. A commemorative stone plaque was installed near the site of the crash, and the local Irish authorities organise a memorial ceremony on every anniversary. 4. In March 2007, a road in Chanakyapuri in New Delhi was named Eamon de Valera Marg to celebrate the historical links. A bust of Rabindranath Tagore was installed in St. Stephen’s Green in 2011, the only one of a non-Irish personage. Political Relations 5. Bilateral relations have been uniformly cordial and trouble-free. The intensive interaction of past centuries continues to be recalled with genuine warmth. At the same time, the intensity of political interaction has not been commensurate with the potential offered by the bilateral cordiality. The Irish side has shown their intense desire to have regular Ministerial level visits from India. 6. On our part, there are two issues of concern to us on which we have been trying to engage with Ireland and get their support, our membership of UNSC and NSG. On both it is not any animosity towards India which prevents them from being more forthcoming but rather both touch the core of their foreign policy and identity. In the case of the UN reforms, Ireland favors a manageable expansion based on objective criteria. Its core concern is to safeguard interests of small and modern states in a reformed Security Council. Ireland supported India’s candidature for UNSC non 1 permanent seat in 2011-12. In return we have committed our support for Ireland’s candidature for UNSC seat for 2021-22. 7. Their action in September 2008 against the India-US nuclear deal has the roots in their passionate attachment to the NPT. Only when they found themselves isolated they signed up to NSG consensus. Indian application for membership of NSG will therefore require continued engagement. After 2008, there was a conscious decision to limit high level interaction to display our displeasure. However, since 2010 we have decided to move forward and re-engage with Ireland at the political level. The visit of former Foreign Secretary Shri Ranjan Mathai in June 2012 provided an opportunity to engage with the Irish side on the disarmament and non-proliferation issues and it was decided to continue such exchanges. Visits 8. There have been three Presidential visits from Ireland to India – Eamon de Valera [1948], Dr Patrick Hillery [1979] and Mrs Mary Robinson [1993]. Presidential visits from India to Ireland have been of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan [1964] and Shri N. Sanjiva Reddy [1982]. 9. The only Indian Prime Minister to have visited Ireland was Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru [twice – 1949 and 1956]. Irish PM Garrett Fitzgerald visited India for the funeral of Smt Indira Gandhi in 1984. PM Bertie Ahern paid an official bilateral visit in January 2006. 10. EAM Shri P.Shivshanker visited Ireland in June 1986 for the first anniversary ceremony of the Kanishka crash. Mrs Preneet Kaur visited Ireland in 2011. Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy paid a visit to Ireland in 2012. Irish Foreign Ministers visited India in 1991 and in 2004 – the latter visit was in the context of the India-EU Troika Ministerial meeting. 11. Bilateral visits at other levels have been relatively few. Irish parliamentary delegations have visited India in 1989, 1993 (for an IPU meeting) and 2003 (for the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of our Parliament). An Indian parliamentary delegation to Ireland was led by the Speaker Shri Shivraj Patil in 1994. MOS(EA) Shri Salman Khurshid made an official visit to Ireland in 1994. MOS(S&T) visited Ireland for an International Conference in 2004. MOS(PMO) Shri Prithvi Raj Chauhan represented India at the 20th anniversary ceremony of the Kanishka crash in June 2005. Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vyalar Ravi visited Ireland in February 2007 for India community-related events. Shri Salman Khurshid, then MOS for Minority Affairs represented Indian government for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary memorial of Air India crash. Recent bilateral visits have been those of MOS(EA) Smt. Preneet Kaur in October 2011 and Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New and Renewable Energy in June 2012. 12. Former President Abdul Kalam visited Dublin at the invitation of Trinity College in June 2009; besides a public lecture at Trinity College, he called on President McAleese and met the Irish Foreign Minister, who hosted a dinner in his honour. 13. From 2000 following ministerial level visits to India took place:- April 2000, Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, Ms Mary Harney Oct 2002, Minister of State for Trade, Enterprise and Employment Mr Michael Ahern 2 2003. Visit by senate chairman, Mr Rory Kiely and President of Dail, Mr Rory O’Han to attend golden jubilee celebrations of Indian Parliament. February 2004. Visit of Irish Foreign Minister Mr. Brian Cowen to attend India- EU Troika Meeting in Delhi. March 2005, visit by Minister of State for Trade, Mr Michael Ahern (on St Patrick’s Day) January 2006. Trade Mission led by PM Bertie Ahern, accompanied by Minister of Education and ScienceMary Hanafin, Minister of Arts, Sports and Tourism, John O’Donoghue and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr. Michael Martin. March 2007. Irish MOS for Justice, Mr. Frank Fahey to India (St. Patrick’s Day) March 2010, Minister of Communication, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan visited Mumbai and Delhi for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. March 2011, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Dr. Leo Varadkar visited India for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations (March 17). During the visit, Dr. Varadkar met Indian Minister for Civil Aviation & Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi and Minister of Science & Technology, Shri Ashwani Kumar. April, 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, Mr. Richard Bruton led a trade delegation to India in. seeking commercial opportunities for Irish business. Nov 2012: Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon led Ireland’s largest ever education mission to India. March 2013. Minister for Children Ms. Frances Fitzgerald visited India on St Patrick’s Day. November 2013 Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Richard Bruton visited India with a 45-member trade delegation. He met with CIM Mr Anand Sharma and addressed the Global Innovation Roundtable organized by the National Innovation Council. November 2013 Mr Pascal Donoghoe, Minister of State for European Affairs led the Irish delegation to the 11th ASEM-ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting. He met also with MOS (PK) during the visit at which a wide range of bilateral and global issues were discussed. 14. Five rounds of consultations have been held between the Foreign Offices of the two countries, the last in New Delhi in September 2009. The mutually convenient dates for the next round of official consultations in 2013 or early 2014 are to be finalized. Some Bilateral Agreements February 1991 Agreement on Air Transport signed in New Delhi October 1993 Agreement on Foreign Office Consultations signed in New Delhi April 2000 MOU on Joint Working Group on Information Technology signed in New Delhi November 2000 Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation signed in New Delhi January 2006 Agreement on Cooperation in Culture (During Irish PM’s Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation visit) Agreement on Cooperation between Science Foundation Ireland(SFI and Indian National Science Academy 3 Economic Relations 18. There is a strong but insufficiently realized potential for growth in economic cooperation. In the 1990s, Ireland’s meteoric economic growth was largely based on trade and investment exchanges with the European Union and USA, with little contribution from Asia. When Ireland’s Asia strategy was launched in 1998, its main focus was on China. It was only in 2004 that India was added as a focus country. Since then, and particularly since the visit to India of the Irish PM in January 2006 with a large trade delegation, economic cooperation has received a significant boost. 19. The launch of an Ireland-India Business Association in May 2008 (inaugurated by the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheal Martin) has significantly enhanced interactions between the business communities of the two countries.
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