Ecuador Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld Begins Key India Visit on Wednesday

Sommerfeld, who is also Ecuador's Minister of Human Mobility, will hold discussions with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday.

Later, she is scheduled to visit Rajghat and pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi before meeting Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, in the evening.

Last November, Margherita visited Ecuador on an official visit and called on President Daniel Noboa Azin, holding discussions with him on enhancing and diversifying bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

During his visit, MoS Margherita also held discussions with Ecuadorian ministers, vice ministers and officials to deepen cooperation between India and the South American country across key sectors, including agriculture, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, training, education, culture, tourism, trade, textiles, health and pharmaceuticals.

The MoS also held a meeting with Sommerfeld during which the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the diplomatic training institutions of India and Ecuador.

Margherita and Sommerfeld jointly inaugurated the resident Embassy of India in Quito, underscoring India's commitment to strengthening its partnership with Ecuador.

In December, MOS Margherita held a meeting with Ecuador's Ambassador to India, Fernando Bucheli Vargas, in New Delhi, discussing ways on how the two nations can strengthen ties and work together in areas of common interest.

India and Ecuador established diplomatic ties in 1969. The two nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for holding Foreign Office Consultations in 2000. According to the MEA, so far five rounds of Foreign Office Consultations have been held between the two countries in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2023.

- IANS