INDIA-ARGENTINA BILATERAL RELATIONS

Practice Question : Elucidate on India – Argentina relationship on various sectoral fronts.

Answer: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Argentina indeed highlights and reiterates the shared values and mutual respect of principles upheld by democracy India and Argentina. This shared relationship reached the level of ‘Strategic Partnership ‘ in 2019 and PM Modi’s visit after 57 years gives great impetus to this strategic partnership across several key sectors.

COMMERCIAL and ECONOMIC SECTORAL FRONT

Let us begin with trade sector. The Prime Minister ,Narendra Modi , requested from Argentina an expansion in the field of India- MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement.

“MERCOSUR is a trading bloc in Latin America comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. MERCOSUR was formed in 1991 with the objective of facilitating the free movement of goods, services, capital and people among the four member countries. It is the third largest integrated market after the European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)” (commerce.gov.in) . It is to be noted that the framework agreement between India and MERCOSUR was signed on 17th June,2003, at Asuncion, Paraguay, followed by a Preferential Trade Agreement on January 25, 2004, in New Delhi. “The aim of this Preferential Trade Agreement is to expand and strengthen the existing relations between MERCOSUR and India and promote the expansion of trade by granting reciprocal fixed tariff preferences with the ultimate objective of creating a free trade area between the parties.”(commerce.gov.in)

Both sides emphasized enhancing market access for dairy and agricultural products. It is to be noted that when it comes to vegetable oil, especially soybean oil , major share of imports comes from South American countries like Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. In fact, to make up for decrease in sunflower oil imports from Ukraine due to Ukraine – Russia crisis and war, the import of sunflower oil increased from Argentina. This Argentina’s exports of vegetable oils still constitute majority of India-Argentina bilateral trade.This in terms of balance of trade , advantage lies Argentina due to its exports of high-value agricultural products, particularly oils, fats, and other raw materials. On the other hand, “Major items of India’s exports to Argentina include petroleum oils, agro chemicals, yarn-fabric-madeups, organic chemicals, bulk drugs and two-wheelers. Major items of India’s imports from Argentina”. (indembarg.gov.in).

FINANCE and INVESTMENT

Steps in terms of agreement between Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) , a state owned enterprise , and Argentine government in January 2024 to explore and develop five lithium brine blocks in Argentina’s Catamarca province is of great significance .

Furthermore, initiatives such as negotiations relating Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), add impetus to creating an investment safe and friendly environment. It is to be noted that The India-Argentina Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) between India and Argentina had been signed and became effective since January 2013.

In terms of private finance and investment by Indian firms, conpanies such “Mphasis (most recent) , TCS, Comviva, Infosys, AEGIS-Essar, Crisil, UPL, Advanta Seeds, Bajaj Motorcycles, TVS, Royal Enfield, Hero Motors, Glenmark, Godrej and Sri Sri Tattva” (indembarg.gov.in) have made their presence known either through establishments in Argentina or through remote working. On the other hand , Argentinian companies such as OLX amd Globant in the IT sector and TECHINT in the engineering sector have made their presence strongly known.

TECHNICAL and DEVELOPMENTAL COOPERATION

●Youth & Media Exchange:

•8 young Argentine politicians visited India (ICCR Gen-Next Democracy Program, Jan 2023).

•10 mainstream journalists visited India under XP Division program (2023–2024).

●Diplomatic Training:

•11 Argentine diplomats attended PCFD courses.

•5 diplomats participated in Disarmament & Security Fellowship (SSIFS).

●ITEC Scholarships:

•40–45 annual slots for Argentina; over 300 alumni to date.

●Space Cooperation:

•4 Argentines trained under ISRO’s UNNATI program (2019 & 2022).

•2 CONAE officials attended IIT Kanpur’s spacecraft course (June 2024).

●IT Center of Excellence:

•India-Argentina Center of Excellence in IT (IA-CEIT) inaugurated in April 2023 at National University of Hurlingham.

•C-DAC deployed a Technical Adviser (Dec 2022–Dec 2024); later handed over to the university.

– indembarg.gov.in

●In terms of field of space technical collaboration, cooperation and development :

● The recent visit of PM MODI to Argentina is important as following measures were discussed:

●Both countries aim to expand cooperation in space, building on the 2007 ISRO launch of Argentina’s first satellite.

●New areas explored include:

•Satellite development

•Launch services

•Space applications

●The Indian Prime Minister emphasized:

•Rapid growth of India’s space sector.

•Strong emergence of a vibrant private space industry in India.

•Indian capability to build entire space systems — from rockets to satellites.

– newsonair.gov.in

In terms of technical collaboration, cooperation, and development in field of medicine:

Fast-Track Import Approvals:

Argentina informed India about its fast-track import process, particularly for medicines approved by the US FDA or European Medical Authority (EMA).

Benefit to Argentina:

India noted this will improve access to affordable, life-saving medicines and reduce healthcare costs in Argentina.

Digital Health Collaboration:

Both sides discussed potential cooperation in telemedicine and digital health solutions. – newsonair.gov.in

COOPERATION in FIELD of CULTURE

Historically, it is to be noted that Rabindranath Tagore visited Argentina as a guest of Ms. Victoria Ocampo. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Argentina in 1924, the Indian Embassy organized a series of events celebrating his legacy. These included a four-part online seminar series titled “El legado viviente de Rabindranath Tagore” launched in July 2024, floral tributes at his bust in November with the participation of Argentina’s Secretary of Culture, and a seminar at Villa Ocampo in collaboration with Fundación Sur. Additionally, the feature film Pensando en él, based on his visit, was earlier showcased as the closing film at the 2017 International Film Festival of India in Goa.

In recognition of strong cultural and intellectual ties, Viswa Bharati University awarded an honorary doctorate to Victoria Ocampo, presented by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1968. Argentine writer and Indologist Maria Rene Cura received the Padma Shri in 1984, while economist Raul Prebisch was honored with the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1974.

In 2019 at Indian embassy in Argentina, the Vice-President of Argentina,Ms. Gabriela Michetti, was the chief guest to celebrate Gandhi@150. Following into the next year, on October 2, 2020, Foreign Minister of Argentina Felipe Solá was invited to participate in Gandhi@150 celebrations in Buenos Aires.

In the field of Yoga and Ayurveda there have been tremendous impetus given to cultural cooperation between the two countries. For example, The 9th Ayurveda Day, themed “Ayurveda Innovation for Global Health,” was inaugurated by the Ambassador on 9 November 2024 and jointly organized by the Mission and Fundacion Ayurveda Prema, with Dr. Agustina Bisio, Director of ANMAT, in attendance. Another example would be the huge participation of people in Argentina with respect to all eleven editions of International Day of Yoga.

Conclusion:

In essence, it can be said that the relationship shared between India and Argentina spans across diverse fields of economy, policy, energy, culture ,technology, defence etc. The condemnation by President Melei of Pahalgam massacre and support for India’s strong stance on issue of terrorism, is of great significance. In the present time of global realignment both leaders ” leaders agreed to continue working closely to strengthen the strategic partnership. They called for giving greater voice to the concerns of the Global South.” (pib.gov.in)

Sources

pib.gov.in

commerce.gov.in

indembarg.gov.in

newsonair.gov.in