External Affairs Minister to visit three countries covering Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
External Affairs Minister to visit three countries covering Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay
Deepening India’s diplomatic presence in Latin America, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will officially inaugurate the premises of the Indian Embassy in India. Paraguayan Capital Asuncion next week. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the ceremony will take place in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay during Mr Jaishankar’s three-nation tour from August 22-27.
“EAM’s visit to these three countries is to continue the ongoing high-level engagement with our partners in Latin American countries, to explore new areas of cooperation in the post-pandemic era, and to exchange views on bilateral issues. will provide the opportunity. of international importance,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The Indian Embassy in Paraguay started functioning from January this year.
The announcement came hours after Mr Jaishankar hosted envoys from the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean in New Delhi, following which he said in a social media post, “There is great potential to enhance our cooperation. Encourage their efforts to realize this to the fullest. Thanked him for his perspective and insight as he headed into this area tonight.”
Mr Jaishankar will co-chair Joint Commission Meetings (JCMs) with his counterparts and review a full range of issues in various fields and discuss “bilateral and global issues of common interest”, the MEA said in the announcement. He will also meet business leaders and Indian communities from the three countries. During the visit, the minister will deliver a speech at the Rio Branco Institute (Diplomatic Academy of Brazil).
g20 summit
High level interactions in Argentina and Brazil are important for India from both bilateral and multilateral angles. Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero visited India in April, when he sought New Delhi’s support in advancing his country’s territorial claims on the Falklands issue. In addition, Argentina has emerged as a major supplier of agricultural commodities as India diversifies sources in the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine. The leaders of both Argentina and Brazil are expected to visit India next year when New Delhi hosts the G20 summit.
Argentina recently participated in the BRICS summit hosted by China, where it began the process of joining the multilateral organization as it is expected to expand to include more BRICS countries. Mr. Jaishankar’s three-nation visit is expected to boost India’s dialogue with Latin American trade bloc MERCOSUR. India and MERCOSUR have a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) since 2005 and talks are on to widen trade ties between the two sides.