Meenakashi Lekhi meets Colombian Vice President, discusses bilateral relations

India's Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) Meenakashi Lekhi on Monday held a meeting with Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia Marta Lucia Ramirez to strengthen bilateral relations between both countries.

India's Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) Meenakashi Lekhi on Monday held a meeting with Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia Marta Lucia Ramirez to strengthen bilateral relations between both countries. During the meeting, representatives from both countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Space sector, Lekhi informed in a tweet.

"Had a productive meeting with H.E. Ms Lucia Ramirez, Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Colombia. Discussed bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest. We signed MoU on Cooperation in Space," the tweet said. Lekhi is paying an official visit to Colombia and New York from September 4-9.

India and Colombia possess over 60 years of diplomatic ties. 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, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed. 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. (ANI)