This article describes India's development partnership with Colombia, including training under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme and past assistance, and cooperation in science and technology, digital technology, health, space and defence. Its source is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief on Colombia, dated June 2026.

ITEC training

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, more than 250 ITEC scholarships have been offered to Colombian professionals since 2019-20. Under the ITEC programme, around 25 school teachers have been trained in teaching the English language every year since 2015, except in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The Mission organised a special course for Colombian English teachers, the Proficiency-cum-Professional Development Course for Teachers, at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. A total of 55 teachers attended in November 2023, and 24 attended from 01-28 October 2024. In March-April 2025, 25 police officials from National Defence of Colombia attended an ITEC course in Gujarat.

The Mission's most recent ITEC Day was held on 23 September 2025. ITEC alumni attended with representatives of the Ministry of Education and its agency ICETEX, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ATENEA, the nodal agency in the Mayor's Office of Bogota. The guests included Ms. Aydee Marqueza Marsiglia Bello, Vice Minister of Housing of Colombia.

Colombian health professionals took part in the e-ITEC programme "Managing COVID-19 Pandemic- Experiences and Best Practices of India" from 11-15 May 2020, and in a related short course on 18 April 2020. Both were organised by PGI Chandigarh.

Assistance

The brief lists the following past assistance to Colombia:

  • a USD 200,000 solar lighting system gifted to Tayrona National Park, Santa Marta, in December 2002
  • two Indian IT experts deputed under the ITEC programme from May to July 2002 to advise the local government on IT policy issues
  • a donation of USD 1 million after country-wide floods and damage to infrastructure in 2010

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mission, with the intervention of the Ministry with the DGFT, facilitated approval of two commercial orders for Colombia: 9,00,000 Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets from IPCA Laboratories and 1 MT of HCQ API from SRINI Pharmaceuticals Ltd. It also facilitated approval of multiple orders of Paracetamol for Colombian companies.

Science and technology

An MoU on cooperation in Science and Technology was signed on 11 June 2005. The first meeting of the Joint Committee under it took place in Colombia in March 2017, when a Programme of Cooperation was signed. The Indian delegation, comprising scientist Jagdish Chander and Prof. Ramesh Chandra, visited the Los Andes University of Bogota, a bamboo preservation and drying plant in Pereira, a bamboo-boards production factory and the Pereira University of Technology.

The second meeting was held by video conference on 14 April 2021. It discussed technical cooperation in frontier technologies, including training under the ITEC programme, and the two sides agreed to exchange information on their delegations for the next Joint Committee meeting.

An MoU on Bamboo Applications and R&D was signed in November 2009, with the National Mission of Bamboo Applications (NMBA) designated as the Indian partner institute. A Colombian delegation visited India in October 2015 to pursue its implementation, and a representative of TERI took part in a workshop on the use of bamboo waste for energy production from 1-5 October 2016.

Colombia is one of the founder members of the NAM S&T Centre in New Delhi and signed the Centre's Statute on 4 February 1985 in New York. More than 15 Colombian scientists have taken part in the Centre's activities with full financial support of the Government of India. The Centre also cooperates with the Maloka Science Centre, Bogotá, where it organised the 2nd International Forum and Workshop for Culture of Science, Technology and Innovation in Society and 1st Knowledge Fest from 24-26 March 2004.

Digital cooperation

India and Colombia signed an MoU in information technology in 2001. On 16 February 2024, Colombia's Minister of ICT, Mr. Mauricio Lizcano, paid an official visit to India and held talks with the MOS (Electronics and IT), Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar. During the visit, an MoU was signed between MeitY and the Ministry of ICT of Colombia for "Cooperation in the field of sharing Successful Digital Solutions Implemented at Population Scale for Digital Transformation", referred to as "INDIA STACK". A workshop on e-hospital and e-office between the Ministry of ICT and MEITY followed in May 2024.

Health and traditional medicine

An MoU for cooperation in Health was signed in 2010, and the first Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on health cooperation was held on 15 February 2022. During the Colombian health, science and technology mission to India in September/October 2021, the Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Medical Research signed two Letters of Intent with Colombian counterparts in biotechnology and medical research.

A delegation from the Department of Pharmaceuticals attended the Annual Health Forum in Cartagena from 8-10 June 2022. On 11 June, the Embassy arranged a meeting with the Department of Pharmaceuticals of the National University of Colombia to explore cooperation with NIPER, Hyderabad. From 1-6 August 2022, an Indian health delegation attended the 7th World Leish Conference in Cartagena and presented measures for containing vector-borne diseases, including Kala Azar.

An MoU for cooperation in traditional systems of medicine was signed in October 2018. Three Joint Working Group meetings have been held under it, in February 2019, May 2019 and October 2023.

Space

On 29 November 2018, ISRO launched the FACSAT 1 satellite of the Colombian Air Force on the PSLV-C43/HysIS mission. The brief records it as the first ever Colombian Air Force Nanosatellite. Two Colombian officers trained at ISRO facilities from October to December 2019 under UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training by ISRO).

During the visit of Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi, MOS (EA), to Colombia in September 2021, the Department of Space and Colombia's Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation signed an MoU on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. The first India-Colombia JWG Meeting under it was held on 7 April 2022. On 16 June 2022, ISRO experts took part virtually in Geomatic Week, organised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Agustin Codazzi Geographical institute.

Defence

Mr. Juan Manuel Santos, then Defence Minister of Colombia and later President of Colombia (2010-18), visited India from 25-29 November 2007. He met the Raksha Mantri, the Home Minister, the Raksha Udpadan Mantri and the Minister of State for External Affairs, and visited BEL facilities in Hyderabad and HAL and the Infosys campus in Bengaluru.

India and Colombia signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in February 2009, which established a Joint Defence Committee (JDC). Its first meeting was held in Bogota from 7-9 September 2009. Other defence exchanges recorded in the brief include:

  • a visit by four officers of the Colombian artillery to the Gun Carriage Factory at Jabalpur in September 2008 to learn about the fabrication of 105mm Howitzer guns
  • the participation of General Fernando Soler Torres, Deputy Chief of the Colombian Air Force, in AEROINDIA 2009
  • visits by NDC delegations from India to Colombia in May 2012 and May 2017
  • three virtual conferences between the Defence Ministries in September 2022 on organising joint exercises in peace keeping operations, counter terrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
  • a defence webinar between defence authorities and industry players in October 2023

In January 2026, the Government of Colombia launched the National Anti-Drone Shield Project. From 16-20 March 2026, officials from the Ministry of National Defence of Colombia, including the Vice Minister of Strategy and Planning, visited India to explore the capabilities of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), particularly in unmanned aerial systems and counter-drone solutions, and to discuss potential collaboration.