Embassy of India
Bogota

Brief on India-Colombia Bilateral Relations

India and Colombia established diplomatic relations on 19 January 1959 and celebrated 65 years of establishment of diplomatic ties in 2024. In March 1972, Colombia opened its Embassy in New Delhi and India opened its Embassy in Colombia in 1973. India also has Honorary Consul in Barranquilla (Atlantico province) since February 2017. Colombia has appointed Honorary Consuls in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Political relations

2.  India and Colombia enjoy friendly and cordial bilateral relations. Over the years, the relationship between the two countries have strengthened and diversified in various areas of mutual interest encompassing political, commercial and cultural domains. The Foreign Office Consultations mechanism was established in 1995. The last (10th round) Foreign Office Consultations took place on 15 October 2024 in New Delhi.

3.  The then President Ram Nath Kovind sent a message of felicitation to President Ivan Duque, after the latter was sworn in as the new President of Colombia on 7 August 2018. Then External Affairs Minister had also sent a message of felicitation to Mr. Carlos Holmes Trujillo, the then Foreign Minister of Colombia. She later met him on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2018. Gen. V.K. Singh, Minister of State, met Colombian Foreign Minister 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 our Prime Minister and the Colombian President Ivan Duque.

4.  On 29 April 2020, a telephonic conversation between EAM and then Colombian Foreign Minister, Ms. Claudia Blum de Barberi was organised. Cooperation in areas of trade, energy and ITEC cooperation was discussed during the conversation.

5.  High level bilateral engagements between India and Colombia witnessed an upswing in 2021. The then Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi paid an official visit to Colombia from 4-6 September 2021. During the visit, MoS met with Foreign Minister of Colombia & Vice President of Colombia, Ms. Marta Lucia Ramirez, and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia, Mr. Tito José Crissien Borrero and held detailed discussions on the issues of mutual interest. External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar met with Ms. Marta Lucía Ramírez on 25 September 2021 on the sidelines of UNGA-76 high-level week.

6.  A health, science and technology delegation led by then Vice President & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Ms. Marta Lucía Ramírez and including Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia, Dr. Luiz Fernando Ruiz visited India in September/October 2021. Vice President & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Ms. Marta Lucía Ramírez arrived in India on 30 September 2021 and met then Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu on 1 October 2021 and exchanged views on strengthening bilateral cooperation. On 2 October 2021, Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar held detailed discussions with Ms. Ramirez. Then Minister of State for External Affairs, Ms. Meenakashi Lekhi met Ms. Ramirez on 3 October 2021.

7.  Shri Saurabh Kumar, then Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, held bilateral discussions in Bogota on 25 November 2022 with his counterpart H.E. Mr. Francisco Jose Coy Granados, then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia.

8.  Then Finance Minister of Colombia, Mr. Jose Antonio Ocampo participated in the Finance Ministers’ Session, chaired by Honourable Finance Minister of India, held in the framework of Voice of the Global South Summit on 12 January 2023. Similarly, then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Francisco Coy J participated in the Foreign Ministers’ Session, held in the framework of the 2nd Voice of the Global South Summit on 17 November 2023.

9.  External Affairs Minister (EAM), Dr. S. Jaishankar, paid an official visit to Colombia from 25-27 April 2023. This was his first visit to Colombia and also the first visit of an External Affairs Minister from India. EAM met with his counterpart, Foreign Minister of Colombia, H.E. Mr. Alvaro Leyva Duran, on 26 April 2023.

10.  On 20 January 2024, EAM, Dr. S. Jaishankar met Colombia’s then Foreign Minister Mr. Alvaro Leyva Duran on the sidelines of the NAM Summit. The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and global issues.

11.  On 16 February 2024, then Minister of ICT of Colombia, Mr, Mauricio Lizcano paid an official visit to India and met then MOS (Electronics and IT), Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and held bilateral talks on the strengthening of ICT cooperation between India and Colombia. During the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding between MeitY and Ministry of ICT of Colombia for "Cooperation in the field of sharing Successful Digital Solutions Implemented at Population Scale for Digital Transformation" viz. "INDIA STACK" was signed.

12.  Then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Mr. Luis Gilberto Murillo, participated virtually in the Foreign Ministers’ Session of the 3rd Voice of Global South Summit on 17 August 2024.

13.  The 10th round of India-Colombia Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) took place in New Delhi on 15 October 2024. The Indian and Colombian sides were led by Mr. Jaideep Mazumdar, then Secretary (East), and Mr. Jorge Rojas Rodríguez, then Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, respectively. During the consultations, an Audio-Visual Co-production Agreement was signed between the two countries.

14.  Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, then 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), held in Cali, Colombia from 28 October - 01 November 2024.

15.  A high-level, all-party Indian parliamentary delegation, led by the Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor, visited Colombia from May 29 to May 31, 2025, as part of India’s global outreach under Operation Sindoor. The visit aimed to convey India’s resolute stance against cross-border terrorism, particularly in the context of the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent military response, Operation Sindoor. The delegation engaged with the key Colombian stakeholders, including government officials, parliamentarians, think tanks, media, and academic institutions, to clarify India’s position and counter misinformation.

16.  Then Secretary (East), Shri P. Kumaran, visited Colombia on 21-22 August 2025 and held meetings with then Vice-Minister of MoFA, Ministers of Culture & ICT, and Vice-minister of MINCIT; Indian businesses & Colombian Council on International Relations (think tank). He held productive discussions on bilateral relations including trade, political ties, digital cooperation & cultural exchanges to strengthen the ties.

17.  EAM co-chaired the India-CELAC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting along with FM of Colombia, Ms. Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio on 26^th September 2025 in New York on sidelines of 80^th UNGA Session. It was agreed to strengthen existing broad-based cooperation in diverse fields including agriculture, trade, health, digital, HADR and capacity building.

Bilateral Agreements/Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs)

18.  Over the years, several MoUs / Agreements have been concluded between India and Colombia in diverse areas including trade promotion, cooperation in science and technology, defence, IT, tourism, space, health, traditional systems of medicine, culture, audio-visual co-production etc.

Economic and Commercial Relations

Bilateral trade

19.  Bilateral trade between India and Colombia had been steadily growing until 2014 and reached approximately USD 4 billion (largely because of oil imports by India from Colombia). However, following the global slump in oil prices, that affected the Colombian exports of oil, bilateral trade registered a decline in 2015 and 2016. However since 2017, bilateral trade has once again started growing. In 2024-25, the bilateral trade stood at USD 4.72 billion, with exports from India to Colombia at USD 1.47 billion and imports from Colombia to India at USD 3.25 billion. In 2025-26, the bilateral trade stood at USD 4.7 billion, with exports from India to Colombia at USD 1.8 billion and imports from Colombia to India at USD 2.9 billion. Imports from Colombia to India have seen a surge over the last 3 financial years (except the last FY 2025-26), due to increasing demand and therefore, of imports, of oil from Colombia. India’s imports from Colombia mainly comprise mineral fuels such as oil and coal, gold, precious stones led by emeralds, aluminum, zinc, wood (teak), plastic etc. India’s main items of exports to Colombia include vehicles (motorcycles etc.), engineering goods, chemicals, cotton, pharmaceuticals, iron & steel products, etc.

20.  The Mission has been taking several initiatives for promoting bilateral trade and investment. The trade facilitation activities include responding to trade queries, addressing trade disputes, assisting visiting export promotion councils/industry associations in organizing their events [Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs), Reverse BSMs, Roadshows, India Forums, etc.], advising and facilitating meetings for visiting Indian businessmen, encouraging participation of Colombian buyers/importers to major trade events organized in India and vice-versa. The Mission has also taken a proactive approach in promoting Indian exports through meetings with local companies, National Hydro-Carbon Agency, government authorities and other stakeholders to boost bilateral trade and investment between India and Colombia.

21.  From FYs 2020-21 to 2025-26 more than 100 physical and virtual B2B meets and BSMs between Indian delegation led by Indian Export Promotion Councils/chambers of commerce such as AEPC, Pharmexcil, CAPEXIL, SEPC, GJEPC, FIEO, ESEPC, EEPC Indian Chamber of Commerce, Chemexcil, EPCH, Plexconcil, FIEO, SRTEPC, Texprocil, among others, and Colombian chambers of commerce and buyers/ importers were organized in the sector of pharmaceuticals, textiles, gems and jewellery, renewable energy, steel, ceramics, printing and publishing, information technology, services, etc. Delegation of Indian textile companies led by Matexil and Texprocil participate in the flagship textile event of Colombia, Colombiatex. Delegation of Indian manufacturers of electronics and electrical goods, construction materials, auto spare parts have participated in flagship fairs of Colombia.

22.  To promote tourism and investment, the Mission has organized Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh States’ promotion days, under the state facilitation activities and road shows, business meetings of tour operators from India. Mission has also collaborated with ANATO, the flagship tourism fair of Colombia for promotion of tourism to India.

Bilateral Investments including Indian companies in Colombia

23.  The Colombian investment in India is estimated to be approximately USD 5 million and the Indian investment in Colombia is estimated to be USD 2 billion (which include OVL´s investment including in its joint venture with Mansarovar, of a total of approx. USD 1.5 billion). The Indian investment in Colombia is mainly in the oil, automobile, agro-chemicals, IT and pharmaceuticals sectors.

24.  Indian companies in Colombia are mainly concentrated in the oil, IT, pharmaceutical, agrochemicals, and infrastructure and two-wheeler sectors. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the only Indian public sector enterprise in Colombia, has both independent operations and a joint venture with Chinese Company Sinopec called Mansarovar Energy Colombia Ltd (MECL).

(i)  Technology/ IT/ ITES: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tech Mahindra, Mahindra Comviva, Infosys, Wipro, IGT Services and Technologies Colombia SAS, Quadratyx, TraQIQ, Hinduja Global Solutions, Zensar, Zoho Corporation, Movate SAS, etc.

(ii)  Pharmaceuticals: IPCA, CIPLA, Aurobindo Pharma, Dr. Reddy´s, MSN Labs, RTM innovex, Ascend, Accord, etc.

(iii)  Agrochemicals: United Phosphorus Limited, Sharda Cropchem Ltd, etc.

(iv)  Automobiles and tractors: TVS, Bajaj, Hero, Sonalika, Mahindra, Uno Minda, Royal Enfield, etc.

(v)  Plastics and Packing: Essel Propack

(vi)  Infrastructure: Shapoorji Pallonji, Jindal Steel, etc.

(vii)  LEDs: Lighting Havell’s Sylvania, etc.

25.  OVL started operations in 2008 and MEL in 2006. While OVL continues both exploration and production of oil in Colombia, MEL operations in Nare contract association terminated in November 2021. Praj industries has constructed ethanol plants in Colombia in the Valle del Cauca region. Thermax Limited has installed biomass boiler for Nestle Colombia in Bugalagrande in Valle de Cauca and supplied pollution control equipment to Ingenio Incauca. It has ongoing projects for supplies of equipment to various Colombian companies. Hero Moto Corp inaugurated its motorcycle plant in Villa Rica (Cauca), near Cali in 2015. Essel Propack set up its packaging factory in the same region in 2016. Bajaj has its main assembly unit in the city of Medellin and a three-wheeler assembly plant in Barranquilla. UPL also has its agrochemicals manufacturing plant in the city of Barranquilla. In August 2021, Royal Enfield announced opening of an assembly plant in Envigado, Antioquia, its second such plant outside India.

26.  On 24 April 2020, under the MoU for cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector (2008), India and Colombia organized the first virtual Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of the Government of India and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of the Government of Colombia.

Technical & Economic Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance

27.  Under the ITEC programme, around 25 school teachers have been trained in teaching of English language every year since 2015, except in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The Mission organized a special course for 55 and 24 Colombian English teachers respectively to attend the course on Proficiency-cum-Professional Development Course for Teachers Iteration – I at English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad in November 2023 and from 01-28 October 2024 respectively. 25 police officials from National Defence of Colombia attended the ITEC Course in Gujarat in March-April 2025. More than 250 ITEC scholarships have been offered to Colombian professionals since 2019-20. So far, more than 650 Colombians have availed ITEC Scholarship.

28.  The Mission celebrated last ITEC Day on September 16, 2026, where ITEC alumni, representatives from Ministry of Education and its agency ICETEX (Colombian Institute for Educational Credit and Technical Studies Abroad), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, ATENEA (Nodal agency in the Mayor's Office of Bogota) etc. participated. The event was attended by distinguished guests, including Mr. Richard Caicedo, President of ICETEX.

29.  Colombia has annually offered 8 – 9 scholarships for Language Assistants from 2017 – 2020. Another 8 scholarships to tourist guides to learn Spanish in Colombia were offered in 2017 and 2018.

30.  The past assistance to Colombia includes gifting of a USD 200,000 solar lighting system to Tayrona National Park, Santa Marta, Colombia in December 2002 and deputation of two Indian IT experts, under the ITEC program, from May to July 2002 to advise the local government on IT related policy issues. India donated USD 1 million to Colombia in the wake of country-wide floods and damage to infrastructure in 2010.

31.  The Mission with the intervention of the Ministry with DGFT facilitated the approval of two commercial orders of 9,00,000 Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets from IPCA Laboratories and 1 MT HCQ API from SRINI Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for Colombia. Mission also facilitated approval for multiple orders of Paracetamol for Colombian companies in light of outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The Colombian health professionals participated in the e-ITEC programme ‘Managing COVID-19 Pandemic- Experiences and Best Practices of India’ from 11-15 May 2020 and in a short related course on 18 April 2020; both organized by PGI Chandigarh.

32.  India provided humanitarian assistance to Colombia with a shipment of 20 tonnes consisting HADR relief materials including critical medical equipment, essential medicines, temporary shelters, and hygiene kits immediately after a catastrophic 7.4-magnitude earthquake which struck western Colombia on August 10, 2026.

Science and Technology Cooperation

33.  An MoU on cooperation in Science and Technology between India and Colombia was signed on 11 June 2005. The first meeting of Joint Committee, envisaged under the MoU, took place in Colombia in March 2017. A delegation from India comprising scientist Jagdish Chander and Prof. Ramesh Chandra constituted the Committee. During this meeting, a Programme of Cooperation was signed. The Indian delegation visited the Los Andes University of Bogota, where they were shown the research facilities and laboratories. The delegation also visited a bamboo preservation and drying plant in the city of Pereira, a bamboo-boards production factory and the Pereira University of Technology.

34.  On 14 April 2021, the second meeting was held through a video conference between Department of Science & Technology (GoI) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia. Bilateral technical cooperation in areas of frontier technologies including training under the ITEC programme was discussed. Exchange of information on the composition of the delegation of the two sides for organizing the next Joint Committee meeting was also agreed.

35.  An MoU on Bamboo Applications and R&D was signed between India and Colombia in November 2009. Under the MoU, Department of Science & Technology was the nodal agency from Indian side along with the National Mission of Bamboo Applications (NMBA) designated as the partner institute. A Colombian delegation visited India in October 2015 to pursue the implementation of the MOU on bamboo applications. A representative from TERI participated in a workshop on use of bamboo waste for energy production from 1-5 October 2016.

36.  India and Colombia signed an MoU in information technology in 2001. In February 2024, India and Colombia signed an MoU in IT stack. A workshop on e-hospital and e-office between Ministry of ICT and MEITY was held in May 2024.

Health Cooperation

37.  India and Colombia signed an MoU for cooperation in Health in 2010. The first Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting in health cooperation was held between India and Colombia on 15 February 2022.

38.  An Indian delegation from Department of Pharmaceuticals visited Cartagena to attend the Annual Health Forum held from 8-10 June 2022. On 11 June 2022, the Embassy also organized meeting between the Indian delegation and Department of Pharmaceuticals of the National University of Colombia to explore potential areas of cooperation with NIPER, Hyderabad in areas of pharmaceuticals education and research.

39.  During the visit of the health, science and technology Mission from Colombia to India in September/October 2021, two Letters of Intent for cooperation in the fields of biotechnology and medical research were signed by the Department of Biotechnology and Indian Council of Medical Research with their Colombian counterparts.

40.  A health delegation from India attended the 7th World Leish Conference held in Cartagena on 1-6 August 2022,. The delegates made presentation on India’s measures and management strategies for containing vector borne diseases, including Black Fever (Kala Azar).

41.  India and Colombia signed an MoU for cooperation in traditional systems of medicine in October 2018. So far, three Joint Working Group meetings have been held, first in February 2019, second in May 2019 and third in October 2023.

Space cooperation

42.  On 29 November 2018, ISRO successfully launched FACSAT 1 satellite of the Colombian Air Force on PSLV-C43/HysIS mission. It was the first ever Colombian Air Force Nanosatellite. This was a historic occasion in India-Colombia relations and received excellent publicity for India’s prowess in the field of space sciences. Two Colombian officers attended training at ISRO facilities in India from October-December 2019 under UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training by ISRO).

43.  During the visit of Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi, then MOS (EA) to Colombia in September 2021, an MoU on cooperation in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes was signed between the Department of Space and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Government of Colombia. The first India - Colombia JWG Meeting was held on 7 April 2022. On 16 June 2022, experts from ISRO participated virtually in Geomatic Week, which is organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia and Colombia’s Agustin Codazzi Geographical institute, to showcase India’s prowess in spatial and geospatial technologies and research and offered areas of cooperation to the Colombian authorities.

44.  In August 2026, Ms. María de los Ángeles Izquierdo Varela, a young student from Palmira, Valle del Cauca, represented Colombia in India’s Mission ShakthiSAT 2026, an international initiative bringing together girls from 108 countries to explore space science and satellite technology. As part of this all-girls initiative led by Space Kidz India, participants gained exposure to satellite engineering, spacecraft systems and payload integration.

Defence Cooperation

45.  Mr. Juan Manuel Santos, then Defence Minister of Colombia, [who later became the President of Colombia (2010-18) and Nobel Peace Prize winner], visited India from 25-29 November 2007. He met Raksha Mantri, Home Minister, Raksha Udpadan Mantri and Minister of State for External Affairs. He also visited BEL facilities in Hyderabad and HAL and Infosys campus in Bengaluru. Our three service Chiefs also met the Colombian Defence Minister in New Delhi.

46.  India and Colombia signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in February 2009. Under the Agreement, a Joint Defence Committee (JDC) was established. The first meeting of the JDC was held in Bogota from 7-9 September 2009.

47.  In September 2008, four officers of the Colombian artillery visited the Gun Carriage Factory at Jabalpur to learn about the fabrication of 105mm Howitzer guns. In 2009, the Deputy Chief of the Colombian Air Force, General Fernando Soler Torres participated in AEROINDIA 2009. NDC delegations from India visited Colombia in May 2012 and May 2017.

48.  The Colombian and Indian Defence Ministries held three virtual conferences in September 2022 to discuss organising joint exercises in areas of peace keeping operations, counter terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The Colombian side expressed interest in exchange of experiences and knowledge from Indian experience, capacity building measures such as exchange of mobile training teams from India to Colombia and training of instructors of Colombia’s Training Centres for Peace Operators. Colombia also requested technical visit to the Centre for UNPKF in New Delhi. In addition, the Colombian side has also conveyed its interest in technical assistance and capacity building through tailor made ITEC courses and other programmes for the Colombian professionals in the Indian Universities.

49.  A defence webinar between defence authorities and industry players of India and Colombia was held in October 2023.

50.  In January 2026, the Government of Colombia launched the National Anti-Drone Shield Project, an ambitious initiative aimed at strengthening national airspace security and countering the growing threat posed by the use of drones by illegal armed groups. In this connection, 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 advanced capabilities of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The delegation engaged with BEL’s experts to gain a first-hand understanding of the company’s state-of-the-art defence technologies, particularly in the areas of unmanned aerial systems and counter-drone solutions. The visit provided an opportunity to assess India’s experience in developing and deploying sophisticated defence equipment, and to discuss potential collaboration in line with Colombia’s requirements.

Cultural Relations

51.  The strengthening of cultural ties between both nations saw an upswing in recent years. There is growing interest among Colombians about India’s culture and heritage. The International Day of Yoga (IDY) events have given a further fillip to the popularity of Indian culture. Indian festivals, dances, music, gastronomy, spirituality are of increasing interest to the Colombians. Some Colombians, who earlier learnt Indian classical and folk dances in India, are now professional performers. Gandhi Jayanti, Tagore Jayanti, Ayurveda Day etc. are celebrated every year and are well received by the Colombians.

52.  In April 2023, India and Colombia signed Cultural Exchange Programme 2023-26 during the visit of EAM to Colombia.

53.  Several festivals, performances, exhibitions, and film-shows have been organized by the Embassy during the last few years. The Embassy in collaboration with local socio-cultural institutions has organized dance performances at various universities during the course of the International weeks held by them.

54.  Several visits of troupes from India to Colombia and vice versa have taken place. The musical group “Colectivo Colombia” traveled to India in 2024 to participate in various events such as the 8th India International Folk Festival held in New Delhi; the International Dance Festival in Varanasi; and the International Dance & Music Festival in Chandigarh.

55.  Culture and legacy of India through photographic exhibitions in public and private spaces were held in Colombia, including the exhibition on the life of Mahatma Gandhi at the Bogotá headquarters of the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN), in March 2024, that generated huge interest in the country.

56.  One of the most important cultural events in 2026 was the participation of India as the Guest of Honour Country at the International Book Fair of Bogotá (FILBo) 2026, where India proudly showcased its rich literary heritage and contemporary creative voices. From ancient epics and classical philosophy to modern fiction and poetry, India presented a vibrant literary landscape, reflecting its commitment to strengthening cultural ties with Colombia and Latin America. The Indian pavilion offered visitors the chance to engage with multilingual literature, meet acclaimed and emerging authors, and enjoy cultural performances and exhibitions. Through its participation, India fostered people-to-people connections, celebrated shared values, and built lasting bridges between the literary communities of India and Colombia.

57.  Yoga is very popular in Colombia and a number of Yoga institutes are engaged in organizing regular yoga classes. Yoga Teacher (TIC) deputed by ICCR had been on the strength of the Mission from January 2016 till June 2020, and again since August 2025. Using the availability of TIC, the Mission was able to organize lectures/conferences/presentation on Yoga and Indian Culture, yoga classes for general public, diplomatic corps, corporate sector and Embassy officials. The Mission also organized Yoga Instructor Diploma Courses in Externado University and Piloto University.

58.  The Mission has been organizing International Day of Yoga (IDY) in several cities of Colombia. Some of these events are organized by the Mission and the remaining in association with yoga institutes and municipalities. Each year, over 10,000 Yoga enthusiasts participate in these events.

59.  Mental and physical care has seen an increase in interest in recent years. Now more and more Colombians are turning to traditional medicine systems (Ayurveda) and activities that generate a balance between mind, body and environment.

60.  During the celebration of International Yoga Day in 2026, Colombia had seen participation in record numbers, in which 20 cities across the country actively participated in the programs carried out by local yoga schools and instructors in alliance with government authorities, companies and study centers. From big cities, to intermediate cities and small towns, all gathered around yoga and the rich culture of wellness that India has to offer.

61.  There are three busts of Mahatma Gandhi in Bogotá: one at the corner of the Centre for Research and Innovation in Sustainable Business (CINSET), another at the El Tunal Public Library (Biblioteca Pública Gabriel García Márquez – El Tunal), and a third at the Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano (Utadeo), where it was installed in January 2023 as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) celebrations commemorating 75 years of India’s independence. In addition, a bust of Mahatma Gandhi is installed at the Casa de la Memoria Museum in Medellín, while another was unveiled in Barranquilla in February 2022. A bust of Rabindranath Tagore is also installed at the Caro y Cuervo Institute in Bog

Indian Community

62.  The Indian Community comprises of approximately 1200 members. Majority of them are professionals, employed with the Indian companies based in Colombia. Socio-cultural associations such as Indian United Association of Colombia (IUAC), Amigos de la India, Somos Indios, etc. organize Indian festivals and other cultural activities in which both Indians and Colombians participate.