Narendra Modi became second Prime Minister to visit Ireland. He has been visiting Ireland almost 60 years after the first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. In 1956, Jawaharlal Nehru paid his second visit to Ireland in the backdrop of the war that broke out in the West Asian region over the monopoly of the Suez canal. The dispute drew the UK, France and Israel into a war with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat.
Modi’s visit to Ireland, however, is an acknowledgement of the recovery of the Irish economy from the devastating economic crisis that it survived just three years ago. Ireland has a significant number of Indian health professionals many of whom represent pharma majors like Reliance GeneMedix and Ranbaxy Ltd.
According to the statement issued by External Affairs Ministry, the present visit would 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.”
Information technology, smart agriculture and food processing industry provide other areas for closer cooperation for mutual advantage.