Official visit to India: political and commercial meetings in New Delhi

Foreign Minister Diana Mondino developed today a broad political and commercial agenda in New Delhi that included an extended meeting and working lunch with her Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as well as a meeting with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, and her participation in activities organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The second day of the Argentine Foreign Minister's official visit to India began with her participation in the event organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an institution that provides analysis to the academic world and decision makers of the Indian Government and the Indian business community. The Foundation also organizes the "Raisina Dialogue", which is India's leading annual conference and one of the most important in Asia on issues of geopolitics and international relations.

Minister Mondino was received by the President of ORF, Samir Saran, who moderated a conversation with political and business authorities of the Asian country, an event also attended by members of the Argentine business delegation accompanying the Foreign Minister during her visit to India and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in New Delhi, especially Latin American diplomats.

In her remarks, Argentina's top diplomat praised the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relationship between Argentina and India and highlighted the growing Indian influence on the global scene, as it has become the world's fifth largest economy. "It is in this new stage that Argentina can play a great role in terms of food and energy security for India", said Mondino, who ratified the "Argentina's interest in achieving a strategic partnership with India'.

At noon, the Argentine Foreign Minister and the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, chaired the meeting of the VII Joint Commission between the two countries, which the participation of representatives of different ministries of the Indian government.

Mondino was then welcomed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Piyush Goyal, with whom she reviewed the progress of trade between both countries. During the meeting, she ratified that "our country wishes to deepen and diversify bilateral trade and, in this spirit, we come to India accompanied by an important delegation of Argentine companies in order to explore and support business opportunities for development". Both delegations addressed issues related to the opening of markets in a two-way relationship within the framework of a joint relationship, highlighting, in particular for the Argentine case, the opening of the Indian market for agricultural products as it represents a great opportunity for our country.

The Foreign Minister explained to Minister Goyal that the Argentine Government is promoting economic reforms to create favorable conditions for companies and that the recently approved Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) will generate the conditions to attract new investments and strengthen the competitiveness of the different sectors of the economy.

Finally, Mondino participated in an Interactive Session at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an influential industry association founded in 1895 that currently has more than 9,000 direct private and public sector members, including SMEs and multinationals, and represents more than 300,000 indirect members through national and regional associations. Meetings between members of the business delegation with representatives of their Indian counterparts were held in parallel with a view to generating business opportunities.

The main goal of the institution -which covers a wide range of sectors, such as manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, services and technology- is to promote policies that foster economic growth, industrial development and business facilitation.

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Jitin Prasada; and IIC's Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Renni BatraAnte, attended the event in addition to business representatives from the two countries.

Minister Mondino expressed that the trade delegation of twenty companies from our country accompanying her during her visit to New Delhi strongly evidenced the interest of Argentine private sector in the Indian economy and market, and vice versa. "We share with India the objective of working to accelerate access to markets for new products and promote the diversification of trade exchanges", said the Foreign Minister who also praised the dynamism of the Argentine and Indian business sectors and the speed of the possibility of integration.

The head of the San Martín Palace made a special reference to "the investment projects being developed by Indian companies in Argentina in the IT, automotive and agribusiness sectors" as well as the recent signing of a contract to carry out feasibility studies for the extraction of lithium in the province of Catamarca. "We have a country with exceptional natural resources, complemented with human capital and developed infrastructure," she assured.

Finally, the Foreign Minister explained the main characteristics of the RIGI regime pointing out that "the role of the private sector is key to lead change towards a more efficient integration to the global economy. Companies from both countries do business, promote investments, and generate activities in both markets to strengthen economic development and improve the quality of life of our societies".

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