“This St Patrick’s Day visit is a fantastic opportunity for Ireland and India to celebrate the successes and opportunities we already collaborate on and share in the fields of education, research, and innovation, and to consider future opportunities ahead, building these networks and relationships across our existing synergies.

“Our Global Citizens 2030 Strategy contains Ireland’s commitment to continue to develop as a global, diverse society driven by a sense of hope and shared opportunity.

“We want to attract, develop, and encourage the best of talent in generations of international learners, researchers, and innovators in Ireland. Movement of talent for education and research benefits the whole of society, at home and away. It supports the skills needs we have but also helps open further opportunities through diversifying our education communities.

“Our 9000+ Indian students in Ireland make up 13.1% of international students in Ireland, and this important relationship is something we hope to see continue and to grow. We have seen the success of developing research and innovation talent for the students who have come to Ireland from India to participate in post-Graduate study programmes, and vice versa.

“Research Ireland, Ireland’s new competitive research and innovation funding agency, is continuing to develop these relationships, with a strong representation of research excellence and talent from India across almost all research areas and partner organisations.

“Neither India nor Ireland is alone in facing the grand challenges of climate change and an accelerated digital transition, which have made even more vital this mutual support and cooperation, and the high level talent and skills development underway, which both our countries are going to require.

“The Ireland India Institute, at Dublin City University, has also been extremely important in supporting these connections, promoting collaborative original research on the cultural, historical and political affinities between India and Ireland, and supporting events which help to develop this international network of scholars and practitioners.

“I am looking forward to celebrating the success stories of cooperation between Irish and Indian institutions, the exchange of knowledge and culture which has been so mutually beneficial, and to our continued successful collaboration in this space.”