External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar called on Vice President of Dominican Republic Raquel Pena last evening in New Delhi. They discussed further strengthening of India-Dominican Republic bilateral ties, especially in trade and commerce, education, defence, space and renewables. They also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues.

Ms Pena arrived in New Delhi yesterday morning on a four day visit to India.

She called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Welcoming the Vice President on her first visit to India, President Murmu said, the timing of this visit is very apt as India and Dominican Republic are marking the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. She noted that bilateral relations between the two countries are warm and friendly, anchored on the strong foundation of shared values of democracy, and a broad convergence of views on global issues. The President noted that the Dominican Republic is India’s 8th largest trading partner in Latin America. She was confident that there is potential to further diversify the trade basket. The President said there is scope for working together and exchanging our experience and expertise in the areas such as pharmaceutical products, marine science, meteorology, disaster resilient infrastructure and digital payments technologies. The President said that capacity building is one of the central pillars of India-Dominican Republic cooperation. She was happy to note that recently, India has organized two Special ITEC training courses for Dominican Republic officials, in the critical fields of cyber security and remote sensing. The two leaders agreed that continued exchanges and contacts between India and Dominican Republic would further strengthen the bilateral ties.

Ms Pena, also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and also visited Parliament House where Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla welcomed her.

Today the visiting dignitary will have a meeting with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Vice President of Dominican Republic Ms Raquel Pena is scheduled to deliver 45th Sapru House Lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs. Tomorrow she will visit Agra.