New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Saturday ended his nine-day trip across Latin America, during which he visited Guyana, Panama, Colombia and Dominican Republic. He is the first Indian foreign minister to have made a bilateral visit to these countries.
The visit — during which he discussed issues ranging from energy and mining to trade and climate change — highlights the strategic significance of these nations in India’s foreign policy goals, including furthering trade ties in the region.
While diplomatic and trade ties between India and Latin America have been increasing since 2014, India’s annual trade with the region currently is roughly $50 billion while China’s trade with the region is $400 billion.
Accompanied by a business delegation led by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Jaishankar’s visit has major implications for India’s bilateral relations with the region as well as for regional organisations such as the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) and Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR).
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Guyana
Jaishankar’s visit began in Guyana on 21 April, where he co-chaired the 5th India-Guyana Joint Commission Meeting with foreign minister Hugh Todd, discussing topics like agriculture, defence cooperation, energy and infrastructure development.
Guyana has recently emerged as the newest global oil power. With crude oil reserves of over 11 billion barrels having been discovered in the country since 2015, the Caribbean nation is now home to one of the world’s largest oil reserves, according to reports.
These developments make Guyana a significant partner to India, which is trying to diversify its oil sources as its supply of discounted Russian crude oil is currently at risk due to payment issues and a competing China.
Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Barbados.
Apart from discussions, Guyanese foreign minister Todd, along with president Irfaan Ali, commissioned an India-made ferry MV Ma Lisha to improve connectivity and mobility within Guyana.
Jaishankar termed it “a testimony of the close friendship between the two nations”. The vessel serves as both a passenger and cargo ferry in Guyana and can carry roughly 300 passengers, 14 cars, two trucks, 14 containers and other assorted cargo.
On 22 April, Jaishankar co-chaired the fourth India-CARICOM ministerial meeting with his Jamaican counterpart Kamina J. Smith.
Founded in 1973, CARICOM is an intergovernmental organisation with 15 member states, including Guyana, Venezuela and Bahamas, among others, throughout Latin America and the Atlantic Ocean.
At the meeting, Jaishankar — along with foreign ministers from the Caribbean nations of Surinam, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica, among others — explored issues of cooperation in the spheres of trade, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, counter-terrorism and more.
He also met with Carla Natalie Barnett, secretary-general of CARICOM, discussing ways to further increase trade and cooperation between India and the regional organisation.
“Covid, increasing intensity and frequency of climate events, the debt and trade stress situations that many of us find ourselves in and food and energy security concerns are really pressing issues it is important for us to sit down and discuss,” the minister said.
Panama
Reaching Panama on 24 April, Jaishankar held bilateral talks with president Nito Cortizo and foreign minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo, focusing on matters relating to pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, logistics and more.
As India’s largest Central American trade partner, with reportedly $610 million in annual trade in 2022, Panama plays a key role in India’s foreign policy objectives as a business and logistics hub.
Cortizo noted that talks focused on the challenges of affordable health and building alliances with the Indian pharmaceutical sector to produce cheaper and quality medicines for Panama.
Moreover, foreign minister Mencomo said the deliberations explored ways to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, including increasing trade and investment, expanding cooperation, as well as Indian companies setting up a logistics hub in the country.
Jaishankar also participated in the fourth India-Central American Integration System (SICA) ministerial meeting, where energy and food security were the key issues, as they were in the Latin America-India business forum as well.
Established in 1991, SICA is an eight-member political and economic organisation consisting of Central American countries such as El Salvador, Costa Rica and Belize, among others.
The external affairs minister interacted with the Indian community in Panama during a visit to a temple.
Roughly 4,000 non-resident Indians (NRIs), 11,000 persons of Indian origin and 15,000 overseas Indians live in Panama, a country located between the two continents of North America and South America.
Colombia
Becoming the first Indian foreign minister to visit the country, Jaishankar reached Colombia on 25 April where he participated in the India-Colombia business forum and met his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Leyva Duran.
The two leaders signed the Cultural Exchange Program for 2023-26 and discussed cooperation in sectors such as health, agriculture, digital infrastructure and more. Jaishankar also met the second vice-president of the Senate of Colombia, Honorio Henriquez, and deliberated on issues of energy and technology collaboration.
Addressing the India-Colombia business forum, Jaishankar said: “The fact is that Covid-19 has made us all more health conscious, but also aware of supply chain vulnerabilities. Cost is also a factor if we are looking at more sources, regionalised production and competitive pricing. I would suggest to our Colombian friends that the Indian industry is your natural partner.”
He further noted India’s role as the “pharmacy of the world”, supplying roughly 100 countries with vaccines.
Dominican Republic
Jaishankar ended his trip across Latin America in the Dominican Republic, landing there on 27 April. His visit marked the highest-level visit to the country from India since diplomatic ties were established in 1999.
Apart from holding bilateral talks on issues of trade, mining, information technology and more, he inaugurated the Embassy of India in the Dominican Republic along with Vice-President Raquel Peña, and the Plaza Mahatma Gandhi in Santo Domingo with foreign minister Roberto Alvarez.
During his address at the foreign ministry, Jaishankar pointed to the rising trade between India and the Dominican Republic, saying it has “reached $1 billion from $12 million since 1999”.
He noted that a few Indian companies such as Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Hetero, Caplin Point and Flagship Biotech have already established offices in the nation, and said that “India’s big automobile dealers, and two-wheeler dealers like Bajaj, Hero and Royal Enfield have established local dealerships in the Dominican Republic”.
The two countries further discussed a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), with an aim to make it a forum for regular meetings addressing economic and business cooperation opportunities between India and the Dominican Republic.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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