India's Latin America, Caribbean Ties Grew Under PM Modi, Trade Reached $50 Billion: Jaishankar

India’s engagement with Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries has increased in the past nine years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and moved towards a new trajectory, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday as he underlined country’s the upgraded engagement in the region.

Addressing the 9th CII India – LAC Conclave here, Jaishankar said India’s bilateral trade in the region surged close to USD 50 billion during the financial year 2022-23. The external affairs minister said these figures are a “testament to the strength and potential of our economic partnership.”

During the conclave, Jaishankar noted that the future of the India-LAC partnership would be based on four important pillars, which include supply chain diversification, resource partnerships, sharing developmental partnerships and addressing global challenges.

“Over the last nine years, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been at the helm, our ties have moved forward on a new trajectory. India’s relationship with the region is being nurtured across the full spectrum of Indian leadership. Latin America and Caribbean regions have witnessed notable engagements with 34 high-level visits, which includes six visits each from the President and the Vice President and four from the Prime Minister,” he said.

Jaishankar acknowledged the increasing number of visits by Indian leaders to the LAC region in recent years, stating that it is a reminder to pay greater attention to this part of the world. The minister stated that growing interest in LAC for deeper engagement with India, and trade between the two, is a testament to the strength and potential of the partnership.

“Today, we need to reflect on the impressive growth of trade between India and Latin America in recent times. Our bilateral trade has surged close to USD 50 billion during the financial year 2022-23 and it is a testament to the strength and potential of our economic partnership,” he added.

Drawing a comparison between India’s trade with the LAC countries with the rest of the world, he said, “It’s worth noting that India’s export to Brazil stands at USD 10 billion, which is almost twice what we export to Japan. Similarly, our export to Mexico is in excess of USD 5 billion, which is more than our exports to Canada.”

In his address, the minister said that Indian companies have played a significant role in this region, with a strong presence in sectors like agriculture, energy, information technology, pharma, and automobile.

He noted that Indian companies have invested around USD 15 billion in the region, stating that this shows the level of interest Indian businesses have in this region.

The external affairs minister underlined that India’s development partnership in the region is also expanding element of the relationship. “Government of India has extended 35 lines of credit to our partners Cuba, Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Suriname,” he said.

Noting that India’s expanding developmental partnership positively impacts the region, he said “Close to USD 900 million has been extended under these lines and we have already completed 21 of these committed projects. our development projects have generated employment.”

Another point of engagement that Jaishankar touched upon was the complementary nature of trade partnership in terms of the import and export of raw and finished goods.