We need to ensure trust, transparency when choosing partners: Jaishankar, India – Latin America
The minister also stressed closer cooperation between India and the LAC region on energy cooperation, noting that “energy cooperation can be a two-way street.”
He further shared: “Indian companies are actively conducting power transfers. They can also contribute to strengthening renewable sectors and even future civilian nuclear power.” He also spoke about India’s initiatives to promote and advocate for alternative and renewable energy through the International Solar Energy Alliance (ISA) and the Global Biofuel Alliance.
In addition, he highlighted the strength of the LAC region in the agricultural sector, as well as the potential bread baskets around the world. “To realize the full (agricultural) potential, better technology, improved productivity, logistics, post-harvest storage and more food processing,” the minister said. He added that advances in drones, nano-fertilizers and artificial intelligence applications could significantly increase productivity and efficiency in the LAC agricultural sector and could serve as the basis for expanding Indian LAC cooperation in agriculture.
He highlighted India’s strength in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and its impact on governance and service delivery, and shared that India “will be open to collaborative efforts in the digital sector so that Latin America and the Caribbean can leverage its benefits.”
The minister also mentioned India’s presence in the mining industry in several LAC countries and continued to build partnerships on harvesting minerals such as lithium, aluminum and other semiconductor-related minerals. Speaking about the global economy, Dr. Jaishankar noted: “It is clear that it is necessary to reduce the risk of excessive concentration in any single geography.” He further added: “We need to build reliable and resilient supply chains” and “trust and transparency in choosing partners”. He further talked about India’s progress in infrastructure and the significant progress in building road, railway and aviation connectivity in India, which could be a reliable partner for infrastructure LAC countries.
The minister stressed that India’s entrepreneurial and innovative culture has experienced significant growth in recent years, which could also be a potential area of cooperation between India and the LAC region. He also said that India is conducting overseas projects around the world, many of which are in the LAC region.
R Mukundan, vice president of the Indian Federation of Industry, shared that LAC Cendave acted as a bridge and facilitated interaction between India and LAC countries. He stressed the improvement of connectivity, cooperation in startups, and technical cooperation in deepening cooperation between India and the LAC region by leveraging technology.
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General of the Indian Federation of Industry, highlighted key points of CII Lac Cendave, including expanding its expansion of cooperation, the pharmaceutical and automotive industries. In addition, he talked about expanding educational and cultural partnerships with academic institutions in the LAC region to promote greater educational mobility. He added that India and LAC countries will work more closely on renewable energy solutions and green transitions. Finally, he shared that both India and LAC should expand and reduce barriers to women’s participation in the business sector more closely.
