Ireland and India have been making steady progress in the bilateral trade in the last decade. The trade of goods has now consistently been above the € 1 Billion figures. The services sector which gained momentum from 2019-20 is now moved up significantly. In 2022, the overall (services + goods) bilateral trade was nearing € 10 Billion.

(You can read here a detailed report which was written by me in Feb, 2024)

A look at the revised numbers published by the Central Statistics Office of Ireland indicates that the exports and imports of services between Ireland and India in 2022 was at € 13.4 Billion (€7.2 Billion exports to India and €6.2 Billion imports from India). In 2020, the figures were at €4.7 Billion and 2021 witnessed a trade of €7.9 Billion. The CSO initial report of 2023 shows that the trade is at €14.37 Billion.

With the services sector at €14.37 Billion and the goods sector at €1.55 Billion, the bilateral trade between India and Ireland has now reached €16 Billion per annum. The respective overall figures for 2021 was €9.28 Billion. This indicates a massive growth of 60% in just two years. This is a substantial progress considering that both the nations have not really focused on this trade or rather it has not been in the radar or main focus areas when it comes to their respective top bilateral trade. The figures indicate that there ought to be more discussions about this growth story, what are the factors supporting this growth, the verticals, is there a sudden demand which is acting as a catalyst, etc. The surprising fact is that these figures are hardly 1-5% of the these two nations overall global trade. So there is enormous potential and opportunity to explore for both the nations.

Ireland had an Asia Pacific 2020-2025 strategy with a focus on reaching €100 Billion annually in the two way trade. This was achieved in 2023, two years before the targeted time frame. The main markets were China, Japan, Singapore, etc. Though India was mentioned in the strategy document , the expected contributions were not much. However, things have started to change in the last two years and hope to see discussions and strategies around India Ireland trade getting more impetus.

Now that the trade between Ireland and India has picked up pace, I anticipate the recent numbers would have helped Ireland India bilateral trade to move into the top 5 EU India bilateral trade. The figure of €16 Billion per annum is for 2023. The percentage annual growth in 2023 is around 6%. Considering a growth of 7-10% annually, this region will be touching €20 Billion by 2026 if given the right focus, support and catalysts.

The recent Ireland visit of Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, is a positive step to reinforce this trade relationship and a 360 degrees approach might augment this to next level. The meeting with his counter part, Mr. Simon Harris is an important step towards this. So it is imperative to enhance the already existing relationship between the two nations, the governments and more importantly people. Ultimately, it will be the people who interact and make things happen from either sides. This along with a strong support from both the governments with some incentives or support in taxation, free trade, etc. will definitely get the numbers going north.

The services sector has been the major contributor. The existing presence of major Indian IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, HCL, etc. have aided in getting traction to the tech sector.

A special focus on Start-ups sector can be a pathway to tap into the technology and innovation strengths of both nations. There are already Indians who are Start-up founders in Ireland. This list is getting bigger on a consistent basis. Some of the start-ups have been phenomenal in adding to this , including Data Science Wizards, Maya Data Privacy, Postree, Inspeq, etc to name a few and many more who are currently part of different accelerator programs in Ireland. There are lot of possible synergies and you can read more about that here – an interview with Dr. Divya Rajput where we discussed about the opportunities and learning for Indian and Irish Startups.

In addition to this, Indian entrepreneurs have businesses spanning across sectors in Ireland which also play a key role in this journey. With a steady increase in the Indian diaspora in Ireland, the fast developments happening in technology, a conducive business environment, positive talks between the government representatives will ensure the India Ireland trade to be on an exponential curve for the upcoming years.

As mentioned in my 2024 article:

The Indian Embassy in Dublin, Ireland , in addition to the ‘India Ireland Friendship Lecture Series’ which is being held since May 2022, have been conducting monthly series of events to enhance and showcase the Ireland market potential to Indian businesses. This includes the Commercial State Event Series, State Cultural Event Series, etc. These are some of the events which are focusing in providing a platform for Indian businesses and entrepreneurs to explore the Ireland market. This also gives an opportunity to businesses in Ireland to understand and learn more about the offerings available in India. India Ireland bilateral trade is on the move and the support extended by the governments of both nations will augment the growth of business as well as the bilateral relations.