Latin American outreach: India, Argentina to expand ties in Energy, Mining sectors

Latin American outreach: India, Argentina to expand ties in Energy, Mining sectors

The suggestions to explore untapped areas of cooperation was put forward last week by Foreign Minister at the ‘India and Argentina in the New World Order: Dialogue among Indian and Argentine Think Tanks’.

NEW DELHI: India and key Latin American economy Argentina are hoping to expand partnership in the sectors of agriculture, mining and minerals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and automotive close on the heels of long pending meetings between trade departments and formation of business council.

The suggestions to explore untapped areas of cooperation was put forward last week by Foreign Minister at the ‘India and Argentina in the New World Order: Dialogue among Indian and Argentine Think Tanks’.

Recent years have witnessed a notable upswing in high level interactions and considerable progress across several sectors. In 2019, the bilateral cooperation was elevated to a Strategic Partnership. In the last ten years, bilateral trade doubled to over $ 3 b. This trend has continued this year, undeterred by the pandemic and the consequent disruptions. The robust economic relationship is further bolstered by the presence of several Indian companies in Argentina and vice versa.

“I am happy to note that the Joint Trade Committee held a meeting last month, after a gap of almost three decades. The recent formation of an India-Argentina Business Council in Buenos Aires is also a commendable initiative. However, there remains unexplored complementarities and untapped potential for increasing engagement in agriculture, mining and minerals, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and automotive,” suggested Jaishankar.

Argentina can be an important partner for India with its abundant agricultural production, reserves of strategic minerals, large energy resources and growing innovation.

The Minister pointed out that the two countries are agricultural powerhouses in their respective regions. “Our cooperation in this area can extend beyond increasing exports and market access to each other’s products, to collaboration in edible oils, agricultural machinery and fertilizers.”

Argentina can be an important partner for India’s energy security, especially in the oil and gas sector. With Argentina joining the International Solar Alliance in 2019, an important first step was taken for cooperation in renewable energy. The large reserves of minerals, including strategic minerals like lithium in Argentina, complements the large appetite for metals and minerals across various sectors in India, including crucial ones like e-vehicles.

The health and pharmaceutical sector has come in the spotlight recently in the context of the pandemic. As the ‘pharmacy of the world’, India was able to provide assured supplies of high quality pharma products in difficult circumstances, in addition to gifting life-saving medicines and essential protective gear to around 150 countries (including to 27 in the Latin America and Caribbean region). While, India granted special exemptions to Argentina on exports of hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol, Argentina reciprocated by allowing the export of ventilators to India.

Another sector which came into focus during the pandemic is the IT sector, an area where India has demonstrated its expertise, including in large scale use of ICT applications for governance and promoting inclusive growth. This is an area with tremendous potential for collaboration, especially in light of the focus on virtual interactions in the digitization of work, according to the Minister.

Argentina has issued a ‘Special Declaration to Fight Terrorism’ with India in 2019, the only country in the region to do so. India and Argentina are among the founding members of G20 and are strong believers of South-South Cooperation with a shared interest in reform of the multilateral bodies.

Our countries must explore increasing bilateral trade and economic collaboration. This will make us a more important player in the availability of goods and services and in the flow of talent.

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/latin-american-outreach-india-argentina-to-expand-ties-in-energy-mining-sectors/79120540

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