Dublin, Sep 23 (Agencies) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Ireland's capital Dublin, where he will be holding bilateral talks with the country's top leadership. Modi is the second Indian prime minister to visit the country after Jawaharlal Nehru, who went there in 1956.
Modi is scheduled for a tete-a-tete with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny at the Government Buildings in Dublin City Centre followed by a working luncheon hosted by Kenny in honour of Modi. "We hope to further develop strong people-to-people and economic ties with Ireland in the years to come," Modi had said in a Facebook post.
Relations between India and Ireland date back to the independence. In 2013, the total trade in goods and services was pegged at Euro 2.48 billion. The key items of Irish export include computer hardware and software, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, food and machinery.
Indian exports to Ireland cover textiles, garments and clothing accessories, pharmaceuticals, light engineering goods and chemicals. Major Indian companies with a presence in Ireland include pharma majors like Wockhardt, Sun Pharma and Reliance Genemedix and information technology firms like FirstSource, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL and Wipro.
Following the government-level interactions, the Prime Minister will interact with the Indian community in Ireland at a special event at Hotel Double Tree Hilton in Dublin. Ireland is home to around 26,000 persons of Indian origin, of which around 17,000 are Indian citizens. The bulk of the community is in the healthcare sector, working as doctors and nurses, with information technology and engineering being the other sectors.
The country is also fast emerging as a significant destination for Indian students seeking higher education, particularly in post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral courses in these particular fields. "This is a very historic visit and there are lots of expectations from Mr Modi. We are confident the PM is the right person to trust to increase foreign investments for India," said Lalubhai Parekh, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP).
There was considerable optimism in the Irish media over Modi's visit, going by the coverage in all the leading dailies. "India presents an opportunity to boost our exports to the faster growing parts of the world - but requires the same level of focus and dedication which Ireland has invested in other trading partners," said the Irish Independent in a piece titled 'There are 1.27 billion reasons why Indian visit is crucial to Ireland'.
"The visit is one of major importance and offers an extensive opportunity for Ireland to reposition itself with one of the largest and fastest growing economies globally," echoed the Irish Examiner. "Irish officials see Modi's visit - only his third to Europe, after visits last year to France and Germany - as a rare opportunity to raise Ireland's profile in the world's most populous democracy, where Ireland is relatively unknown," added the Irish Times.
From Dublin, Modi sets off for New York this evening to address a UN Sustainable Development Summit and participate in a summit on peacekeeping being hosted by US President Barack Obama. He then travels on to the West Coast of the US, where he will address the Indian community in the Silicon Valley and hold meetings with top tech CEOs as part of this two-nation, three-city tour which concludes on September 29.
earlier:
New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday left on a visit to Ireland and the US.
"Working westward. PM @narendramodi departs on a 2 nation, 3 city visit to Ireland & the US, will address the @UN," tweeted external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
Modi will spend Wednesday in Ireland where he will hold discussions with Prime Minister Enda Kenny. He will depart for New York the same evening for the US leg of his tour.
The Irish prime minister will host a working lunch in honour of Modi, who will be the first Indian prime minister to visit Ireland in almost 60 years.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to review bilateral relations between the two countries as well as discuss regional and global matters of mutual interest.
Both countries have traditionally had cordial and friendly relations going back to the time of India's freedom movement.
"The present visit will provide an excellent opportunity to bolster economic relations between the two countries as there are clear complementarities between our flagship programmes, in particular 'Skill India' and 'Digital India' programmes and Ireland's proven educational institutions.
The visit will also provide an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss global issues particularly in the context of the upcoming UN session which both prime ministers will be attending.
India and Ireland will explore possibilities of working together in the multilateral fora on global challenges including climate change, poverty alleviation, sustainable development goals, environment and disarmament.
Ireland also has a 26,000-strong Indian community. Engagement with the diaspora provides another commonality between India and Ireland, which has a 70-million strong diaspora spread across the world.
In New York City, Modi will address the UN Sustainable Development Summit for formal adoption of post-2015 new sustainable development agenda.
He will also visit the West Coast on September 26-27 and participate in several programmes.
Working westward. PM @narendramodi departs on a 2 nation, 3 city visit to Ireland & the US, will address the @UN pic.twitter.com/vyEO8jmAYb
— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 23, 2015