This article sets out when India and Colombia established diplomatic relations, the main political contacts between the two governments, their dialogue mechanisms and the areas covered by their agreements. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.
Establishment of relations
Colombia and India established diplomatic relations on 19 January 1959. According to the MEA brief of June 2026, the two countries celebrated 65 years of diplomatic ties in 2024.
The brief describes India and Colombia as enjoying "friendly and cordial bilateral relations". It states that over the years the relationship has strengthened and diversified in all areas of mutual interest, covering the political, commercial and cultural fields.
Dialogue mechanisms
The Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) mechanism was established in 1995. The 10th round of India-Colombia FOC took place in New Delhi on 15 October 2024. The Indian side was led by Mr. Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East), and the Colombian side by Mr. Jorge Rojas Rodríguez, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. An Audio-Visual Co-production Agreement was signed during these consultations.
Earlier, on 25 November 2022, Shri Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, held bilateral discussions with his counterpart, H.E. Mr. Francisco Jose Coy Granados, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia.
Secretary (East), Shri P. Kumaran, visited Colombia on 21-22 August 2025. He met the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministers of Culture and ICT, the Vice-minister of MINCIT, Indian businesses and the CORI think tank. The brief says the discussions covered bilateral relations, including trade, political ties, digital cooperation and cultural exchanges.
High-level contacts from 2018 to 2020
After President Ivan Duque was sworn in as President of Colombia on 7 August 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind sent him a message of felicitation. The then External Affairs Minister sent a message of felicitation to Mr. Carlos Holmes Trujillo, the then Foreign Minister of Colombia, and later met him on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2018.
Gen. V.K. Singh, Minister of State, met Mr. Carlos Holmes Trujillo in October 2018 during his visit to Colombia. During the UN General Assembly in 2019, a pull-aside meeting was held between the Prime Minister of India and President Ivan Duque.
On 29 April 2020, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) held a telephone conversation with the then Colombian Foreign Minister, Ms. Claudia Blum de Barberi. Cooperation in trade, energy and ITEC was discussed.
Visits in 2021
The brief notes that high-level engagements "witnessed an upswing in 2021". Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi paid an official visit to Colombia from 4-6 September 2021. She met the Foreign Minister and Vice President of Colombia, Ms. Marta Lucia Ramirez, and the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr. Tito José Crissien Borrero.
EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar met Ms. Marta Lucía Ramírez on 25 September 2021 on the sidelines of the UNGA-76 high-level week. Ms. Ramírez then led a health, science and technology delegation to India from 27 September 2021, which included Dr. Luiz Fernando Ruiz, Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia.
Ms. Ramírez arrived in India on 30 September 2021 and met the Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu, on 1 October 2021. She held detailed discussions with Dr. S. Jaishankar on 2 October 2021 and met Ms. Meenakashi Lekhi on 3 October 2021.
First visit by an External Affairs Minister
EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar paid an official visit to Colombia from 25-27 April 2023. The brief records that this was his first visit to Colombia and also the first visit of an External Affairs Minister from India. He met his counterpart, Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Alvaro Leyva Duran, on 26 April 2023.
The two ministers met again on 20 January 2024 on the sidelines of the NAM Summit, where they discussed bilateral ties and global issues.
Multilateral meetings
Colombia has taken part in the Voice of the Global South Summits hosted by India. Finance Minister Mr. Jose Antonio Ocampo participated in the Finance Ministers' Session on 12 January 2023, chaired by the Finance Minister of India. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Francisco Coy J participated in the Foreign Ministers' Session of the 2nd summit on 17 November 2023, and Foreign Minister Mr. Luis Gilberto Murillo joined the Foreign Ministers' Session of the 3rd summit virtually on 17 August 2024.
Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, MoS for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, led the Indian delegation to the high-level segment of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-16). The meeting was held in Cali, Colombia, from 28 October to 01 November 2024.
On 26 September 2025, the EAM co-chaired the India-CELAC Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New York with the Foreign Minister of Colombia, Ms. Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio, on the sidelines of the 80th UNGA Session. According to the brief, it was agreed to strengthen cooperation in fields including agriculture, trade, health, digital, HADR and capacity building.
Parliamentary outreach in 2025
A high-level, all-party Indian parliamentary delegation led by Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor visited Colombia from 29 to 31 May 2025 as part of India's global outreach under Operation Sindoor. The brief states that the visit aimed to convey India's stance against cross-border terrorism, in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack of 22 April 2025 and India's subsequent military response. The delegation met government officials, parliamentarians, think tanks, media and academic institutions.
Areas covered by agreements
The brief states that several MoUs and agreements have been concluded between India and Colombia over the years. The areas it lists are:
- trade promotion
- cooperation in science and technology
- defence
- IT
- tourism
- space
- health
- traditional systems of medicine
- culture
- audio-visual co-production