Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought Ireland's support for India's membership of UN Security Council and international export control regimes including NSG during wide ranging talks with his Irish counterpart which also covered global challenges like terror and radicalisation. During his nearly five-hour stopover en-route to the US, Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ireland in 59 years, held talks with his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny after which he hoped that Ireland's visa policy will be sensitive to the requirements of India's IT firms. Highlights of Ireland visit Dublin (Ireland): PM Narendra Modi leaves for New York. pic.twitter.com/yJ6EafG52B — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 8:56 pm (IST): Modi will leave for New York to address a UN Sustainable Development Summit and participate in a summit on peacekeeping being hosted by US President Barack Obama. 8:09 pm (IST): Modi chant once again echoes at Hotel Hilton as PM concludes his speech. 8:07 pm (IST): "65 percent of India's population is under 35. India is a young country. They can fulfill India's dream," says Modi. 8:07 pm (IST): World considers India as fastest running economy, says Modi. India belongs to the youth and it is the youth that will take India to newer heights: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 23, 2015 8:04 pm (IST): If this (children singing Sanskrit song) had happened in India then some would have raised questions on secularism, says Modi. PM Modi arrives to address Indian community in Dublin #ModiInIreland pic.twitter.com/ZxXz7xprJF — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 8:04 pm (IST): World is recognising India's development, says Modi. 7:57 pm (IST): Your love has drawn me to meet you all in Ireland, says Modi. Watch Video 7:52 pm (IST): PM Modi interacts with the Indian community in Fritzwilliam Hall, Dublin. 7:47 pm (IST): Huge turnout for Modi's address in Dublin. 7:11 pm (IST): Modi to address Indian diaspora in Ireland shortly. 7:10 pm (IST): Modi concludes speech. I look forward to seeing you (PM Enda Kenny) in India: PM Modi #ModiInIreland pic.twitter.com/mfMFQfNvWd — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 I have now sought Ireland’s support for India’s membership of the NSG and other international export control regimes: Modi. 7:09 pm (IST): We seek Ireland's support for UNSC seat: Modi. 7:09 pm (IST): India and Ireland will soon have direct air services, says PM Modi. 7:08 pm (IST): Directive Principles of State Policy in Indian constitution are inspired by Irish constitution, says Modi. 7:08 pm (IST): We hope that Ireland's visa policy will be sensitive to India's IT firms, says PM Modi. I also hope that Ireland's visa policy will be sensitive to India's IT firms-PM Modi #ModiInIreland pic.twitter.com/etDudmGvMY — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 7:07 pm (IST): India and Ireland are among the fastest growing economies in Asia and Europe: PM Modi Irish exports gave us institutions like geology survey & first linguistic survey of India: PM Modi #ModiInIreland — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 7:05 pm (IST): We see a lot of opportunities for Irish skills and IT tech to work with India, Irish PM Enda Kenny. 6:38 pm (IST): India-Ireland joint statement to begin shortly. Irish PM, Mr. Enda Kenny presenting a hurly (stick) and a ball (sliotar) ,equipments used in the Hurling Game to PM pic.twitter.com/H322fpmkhq — PIB India (@PIB_India) September 23, 2015 6:37 pm (IST): Irish PM Enda Kenny presents a hurly (stick) and a ball (sliotar), equipment used in the Hurling Game to PM Modi. 6:35 pm (IST): Modi also presented to his Irish counterpart a specially handcrafted piece of silver marble and roughly hewn sandstone rock. Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India provided 1st scientifically based taxonomy of Indo-Aryan languages. pic.twitter.com/OdEqIkjeX8 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 23, 2015 6:27 pm (IST): Sir George A Grierson conducted the 1st linguistic survey of India, which was published over several years between 1903 to 1928. 6:26 pm (IST): Mr. Oldham 'conducted first systemic coal mapping of India and later initiated mapping of other minerals. He wrote a lot about fossils in India.' 6:20 pm (IST): Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents selected manuscripts and papers connected with Irish officials, Mr. Thomas Oldham & Sir George Abraham Grierson, recognising their contribution to India. Presented reproductions of selected manuscripts & papers from the National Archives of India to Mr. @EndaKennyTD. pic.twitter.com/t9E18ia5pI — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 23, 2015 "We hope to further develop strong people-to-people and economic ties with Ireland in the years to come," Modi had said in a Facebook post in reference to the visit. Dublin (Ireland): Irish PM Enda Kenny receives PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/fEDvHZZhqU — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 Relations between India and Ireland date back to independence and in 2013, the total trade in goods and services was pegged at euro 2.48 billion. The key items of Irish export include computer hardware and software, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, food and machinery. Dublin (Ireland): Irish PM Enda Kenny presents a Irish cricket team jersey to PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/ue51XrxVa6 — ANI (@ANI_news) September 23, 2015 Indian exports to Ireland cover textiles, garments and clothing accessories, pharmaceuticals, light engineering goods and chemicals. Major Indian companies with a presence in Ireland include pharma majors like Wockhardt, Sun Pharma and Reliance Genemedix and information technology firms like FirstSource, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL and Wipro. Following the government-level interactions, the Prime Minister will interact with the Indian community in Ireland at a special event being hosted at Hotel Double Tree Hilton in Dublin. Ireland is home to around 26,000 persons of Indian origin, of which around 17,000 are Indian citizens. The bulk of the community is in the healthcare sector, working as doctors and nurses, with information technology and engineering among some of the other sectors. The country is also fast emerging as a significant destination for Indian students seeking higher education, particularly in post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral courses in these particular fields. "This is a very historic visit and there are lots of expectations from Mr Modi. We are confident the PM is the right person to trust to increase foreign investments for India," said Lalubhai Parekh, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP). From Dublin, Modi sets off for New York this evening to address a UN Sustainable Development Summit and participate in a summit on peacekeeping being hosted by US President Barack Obama. He then travels on to the West Coast of the US, where he will address the Indian community in the Silicon Valley and hold meetings with top tech CEOs as part of this two-nation, three-city tour which concludes on September 29. The last Indian prime minister to visit Ireland was Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956. There was considerable optimism in the Irish media over Modi's visit, going by the coverage in all the leading dailies. "India presents an opportunity to boost our exports to the faster growing parts of the world - but requires the same level of focus and dedication which Ireland has invested in other trading partners," said the 'Irish Independent' in a comment piece titled 'There are 1.27 billion reasons why Indian visit is crucial to Ireland'. "The visit is one of major importance and offers an extensive opportunity for Ireland to reposition itself with one of the largest and fastest growing economies globally," echoed the 'Irish Examiner'. "Irish officials see Modi's visit - only his third to Europe, after visits last year to France and Germany - as a rare opportunity to raise Ireland's profile in the world's most populous democracy, where Ireland is relatively unknown," added the 'Irish Times'. (With PTI inputs)
