MoS Lekhi to visit Colombia, New York to hold bilateral discussions

Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) Meenakashi Lekhi will be paying an official visit to Colombia and New York from September 4-9.

During her visit, MoS will call on the top leadership of Colombia and will also hold bilateral discussions with Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia Marta Lucia Ramirez, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed.

Both parties will exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. She will also be interacting with leading Indian and Colombian companies, the statement said.

Lekhi will also visit New York from September 7-9, and she will represent India at the UN Security Council Ministerial Open Debate on 'Transitions' under the agenda item 'United Nations Peackeeping Operations' to be convened by the Irish Presidency on September 8.

She is expected to meet with senior UN leadership and interact with the Indian community in New York, in celebration of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of India's independence.

In 2019, India and Colombia celebrated 60 years of their diplomatic relations. Colombia is an important partner of India in Latin America and relations with the country have been expanding particularly, in the economic and commercial sphere, the statement added.

Bilateral trade with Colombia for the year 2020-21 stood at USD 2.27 billion, which is a significant increase from USD 1.85 billion over 2019-20 despite disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The visit of MoS to Colombia would provide an opportunity to review progress in our bilateral relations and further expand and strengthen this important partnership. The last Ministerial visit from India to this country took place in October 2018, MEA informed.

Meanwhile, This will be Lekhi's first visit as Minister of State and she will also interact with the Indian Community residing in Colombia.

( With inputs from ANI )