Latin America no longer 'very distant' as PM Modi builds deeper engagement with region

Rio de Janeiro, July 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State Visit to Brazil, starting with his arrival in Brasilia early Tuesday morning, India time, will not only be a significant milestone in the India-Brazil strategic partnership but is also expected to add renewed momentum to India's growing engagement with the region over the last 11 years.

PM Modi has earlier visited Brazil on three occasions, the first in July 2014, followed by another visit in 2019 to attend the BRICS summit, and in November last year to attend the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Modi will be arriving in Brasilia after attending the two-day 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro where he also held a number of bilateral meetings with leaders of Latin America countries as India continues to reach out to the world.

Before leaving for the ongoing five-nation visit, PM Modi had expressed confidence that his visits to the countries will reinforce India's bonds of friendship across the Global South, strengthen partnerships on both sides of the Atlantic, and deepen engagements in the multilateral platforms such as BRICS, the African Union, ECOWAS and the CARICOM.

In Trinidad and Tobago, a country with which India shares a deep-rooted historical, cultural and people-to-people connect, Prime Minister Modi had reiterated New Delhi's continued support for CARICOM to enhance the Global South partnership.

Interestingly, this was the second visit of Prime Minister Modi to the Caribbean region in a span of eight months - he had previously visited Guyana in November 2024 - and shows the immense importance that India accords to the Caribbean countries and reflects India's growing partnership with CARICOM.

After Port of Spain, PM had travelled to Buenos Aires - the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Argentina in 57 years - to hold discussions with Argentina's President Javier Milei and sign several mutually-beneficial agreements between the two countries in various sectors.

Even during the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, PM Modi continued to strengthen India's bond with the Latin American nations by holding key meetings with the Presidents of Uruguay, Bolivia and Cuba - holding discussions on issues of concern to the global South, including in the areas of health, pandemics and climate change.

Last month, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada's Kananaskis, PM Modi had met with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, discussing the priorities of the Global South.

The two leaders had agreed to work towards further expanding ties in the areas of trade, investment, start-ups, innovation, science and technology and automotive sector, and to promote people-to-people exchanges.

Last November, while addressing the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit in Georgetown, Prime Minister Modi had underscored that India stands firmly for giving voice to the concerns of the Global South. Noting that the Global South countries were the most impacted by the challenges and conflicts of recent years, he had also reaffirmed India's steadfast commitment to Caribbean countries as a reliable partner.

Top leaders of the region have also acknowledged India's rise as the fifth largest economy in the world and growing presence in different corners of the world.

In April, Chile President Gabriel Boric Font paid a State Visit to India accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, Members of Parliament, senior officials, business associations, media and prominent Chileans involved in the India-Chile cultural connect.

Last month, Paraguay President Pena Palacios was on a State Visit to India, only the second visit by a President of Paraguay to the country.

"I would say whether we view it from the Latin American end, or even from the Indian end, an economy of this size, will surely shrink distances. And that you can already see happening. It's also happening because within India, there is a very profound transformation, a transformation, which has seen, which is visible in terms of digital delivery, in terms of renewed interest in manufacturing, in an unprecedented coming together of infrastructure initiatives. And of course, a growing innovation and startup culture. So my first point, India is big, it will get bigger, it will get closer, it will be much more in your lives than it has been in the last few decades," External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said during the Latin America Business Forum in Panama City this April.

--IANS

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