Into President Marci’s visit: India signs MoUs on defence and energy building
President of Argentina, Mauricio Marci’s state visit to India marked the 70th year of diplomatic relation between the Republic of Argentina and the Republic of India. Marci was received at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday with a Guard of honour and later visited the ‘samadhi’ of Mahatma Gandhi. Last year, Argentina became the first Latin American country to host the G20 Summit in Buenos Aries, which also marked the emergence of Argentina as a big player in the region. The annual trade between India and Argentina which now stands somewhere at USD $3 billion are expected to make some real change in figures after President Marci’s visit.
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The Argentinean delegation included Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Jorge Faurie, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Mr Emilio Monzo, Government Secretary of Modernization Mr Andres Ibarra, Government Secretary of Agriculture Luis Etchevehere and senior business officials and diplomats. Since the last G20 Summit, India and Argentina have maintained close relations, focusing much on trade, commerce and tourism. The Ministry of External Affairs, India has published the list of MoUs signed during President Marci’s visit. Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson MEA took to this twitter handle whereby he mentioned of the two biggest MoUs signed between the countries. With recent terror attacks, President Marci and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on counteraction for global terrorism by signing the MoU on defence cooperation. India and Argentina have also been powerhouses for sources of renewable energy, thus the latter became the 72nd country to sign the ‘Framework Agreement on International Solar Alliance’. Other MoUs signed between the two countries involved the areas of broadcasting, tourism, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
Foreign Affair Minister Jorge Faurie also mentioned about Argentina’s expertise on building small reactors and India seemed for a very ‘feasible’ option. Moreover, another MoU was signed between the Department of Atomic Energy, India and National Atomic Energy Commission, Argentina. The two countries have been close associates since 2010 on the peaceful use of nuclear development since 2010. Faurie further added about the advancements of Argentinean company, INVAP which is working to build ‘molybdenum’ plants in Mumbai. Space explorations and collaborations on terms of satellite launch and space stations were also discussed and deliberated.
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Following almost similar developmental paths, and how in the recent times Argentina has emerged as a leading global leader from the Latin American region would prove beneficial for India. The countries can actually establish further trade and commerce in the Atlantic region. Since the former is a global agricultural producer, India may channelize it towards the benefit of creating global markets for its domestic crops, a key problem of Indian agriculture. Energy harnessing plants and nuclear deals will also prove significant in utilising the actual resource structure of India. Bilateral investments may also increase on both sides.
