1.2. India and South America: Current Imperatives and Historical Dynamics
♤ It is essential to raise India’s global profile and expand the country’s footprints with the♤ Absent strong ties in geography, what India and South America have instead is a shared post-colonial history.Indira Gandhi’s visits to eight countries in the region in 1968.♤ Political engagement, has been minimal both ways: only five visits have been made by Latin American leaders to India since 2014.♤ Mercosur, a sub-regional bloc consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay,♤ Negotiations over a PTA have started between India and Peru.1.2.3. Some interesting Facts1♤ In 2016-17, India exported more to Mexico ($3.5 billion) than to neighbours such as Thailand ($3.1 billion), Myanmar ($1.7 billion) and Iran ($2.4 billion) or traditional trade partners Russia ($1.9 billion) and Canada ($2 billion).1.2.4. Food and Energy Securitythe Latin America region, which has vast swathes of fertile land.1.2.5. Defence♤ Two civil model Dhruv helicopters to Peru.♤ With a target of US$500 billion in trade and US$250 billion investment in the region by 2025, China is working to establish itself as the dominant economic power in the region.♤ The challenge for India is how to engage in a region that China has similarly set its eyes on.♤ The Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade bloc, currently has four member states— Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru—that all border the Pacific Ocean. India was granted ‘observer’ status in the bloc in 2014.♤ NAM can be a good mechanism and platform to cooperate.♤ The First Meeting of the India-CARICOM Joint Commission was held in Georgetown, Guyana on 2nd June 2015.♤ On June 2003, the Andean Community and India established a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism♤ SICA: The Central American Integration System (Spanish: Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since February 1, 1993.
