Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld is set to visit India from April 29 to May 1, as announced by the Ministry of External Affairs. During her visit, Sommerfeld, who also serves as Ecuador’s Minister of Human Mobility, will engage in discussions with India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. She is scheduled to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat and meet with various Indian ministers, including 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 a previous visit to Ecuador, Minister Margherita met with President Daniel Noboa Azin to discuss enhancing bilateral cooperation. The discussions covered various sectors such as agriculture, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, education, culture, tourism, trade, textiles, health, and pharmaceuticals. A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the diplomatic training institutions of India and Ecuador was signed during the meeting between Margherita and Sommerfeld, who also jointly inaugurated the resident Embassy of India in Quito.
Minister Margherita also met with Ecuador’s Ambassador to India, Fernando Bucheli Vargas, in New Delhi to explore avenues for strengthening ties and collaboration in mutual areas of interest. India and Ecuador have a longstanding diplomatic relationship dating back to 1969. The two countries have engaged in Foreign Office Consultations through several rounds since 2000, with the latest rounds held in 2014 and 2023.
