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    Argentina committed to international security by broadening defence cooperation with India: Mauricio Macri

    Synopsis

    Macri announces that Argentina is committed to international security by broadening defence cooperation with India and harps on newer sectors for investment and trade partnership.

    Macri announces that Argentina is committed to international security by broadening defence cooperation with IndiaOthers
    Macri has announced that Argentina is committed to international security by broadening defence cooperation with India.
    Mauricio Macri, the Argentine President who is first foreign leader to visit India since the Pulwama attack tells ET's Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury in Delhi that Argentina and India would join hands to combat terrorism and extremism through various multilateral forums. Emphasises on cooperation with India at UN & other multilateral forums in North and South American region to fight terror. Macri announces that Argentina is committed to international security by broadening defence cooperation with India and harps on newer sectors for investment and trade partnership.

    How do you think India and Argentina can join hands to combat menace of terrorism and extremism.
    Let me first reiterate my Government’s condemnation of the attack in Pulwama last week, and express my condolences to the families of the victims. Argentina has been the victim of terrorist attacks in the past, and we see multilateral cooperation as vital to combat such threats. For Argentina that means working within the United Nations, and regionally in the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Committee against Terrorism, and Mercosur’s Specialized Forum on Terrorism. Our two countries can work together to continue to foster multilateral cooperation to combat such threats.

    Mr President, this is maiden visit to India in the current role. You had earlier visited India as Governor of Buenos Aires. What would be key areas of cooperation in bilateral strategic partnership in coming years?
    I am delighted to be visiting India again and meet with Prime Minister Modi, who I had the pleasure of welcoming to Buenos Aires late last year at the G20 Summit. This time I come with a delegation of over 70 Argentine businesses, both large and small, from 11 Argentine provinces and representing a number of sectors – from agribusiness and energy and mining, to pharmaceuticals and knowledge-based services, and we are all looking forward to an exciting and fruitful agenda.

    My Government sees several areas for cooperation in our bilateral strategic partnership that will allow for betteropportunities and concrete benefits for citizens of Argentina and India. These include in energy, mining and trade, agribusiness and food security, spatial and nuclear cooperation, tourism, and cooperation in the ICT sector, public media and broadcasting.

    What is your vision for Indo-Argentina partnership in areas of defence, energy, agriculture and high-tech sectors?
    To take agriculture, we believe in Argentina we can make a considerable contribution to meeting the dietary needs of future populations. Argentina is the 7th largest food producer globally, with some of the highest agricultural productivity levels in the world, and we are a global leader in agricultural technology. 90% of our agribusiness uses direct seeding and satellite-controlled irrigation systems, for example. We currently provide food for 400 million people worldwide and hope to increase this to 600 million by 2025. In energy, we see partnership opportunities in Vaca Muerta, one of the largest deposits of shale oil and gas in the world, and inrenewable energies, particularly solar. With high-tech sectors, we are very interested in furthering exchange of knowledge and experiences in emerging technologiesand applied research, as well as financial and digital Inclusion. Finally, we share in a commitment to maintain international peace and security and we are very interested in broadening our cooperation in defence.

    PM Narendra Modi undertook his maiden trip to Argentina last November. This is the first PM trip to Argentina after several years. How did contribute in giving momentum to bilateral ties.
    We were delighted to welcome Prime Minister Modi to Buenos Aires last November for the G20 Summit. In fact, while this is the first visit of an Argentine president to India in ten years, it is my fifth meeting with Prime Minister Modi. All five of our meetings have given real impetus to our strategic bilateral relations. This year, we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. I am very pleased that the relationship between Argentina and India is blossoming and that our historical ties are stronger than ever.

    Indo-Latin American trade is still far below potential. How do you think two sides & India-Argentina can push trade volume? Do you think India should put in place a strategy for Latin America?
    As our regions share many complementarities and are both extremely rich in natural resources, I believe we need to work to develop more tools to facilitate trade between our two regions. From a bilateral perspective, I am convinced that we need to support the private sector to increase and diversify our exports, open new marketsand promote Indian investments in various strategic sectors of our economy. This I’m sure will enable trade between our countries and regions to grow exponentially.

    What are areas that Argentina is interested to export and invest in India. What are areas that Indian companies can explore in Argentina.
    Following on from the several priority areas I mentioned before, we see opportunities in mining, particularly lithium, of which we have some of the largest reserves in the world. Here we feel that we have the potential to help India as it moves to using electric vehicles on an ever larger scale. The development of renewablesenergy sources is another area. We would like to invite Indian companies to participate in the third round of our RenovAr energy auction programme to bring new installed capacity to Argentina’s grid.

    There are also some 20 Indian companies already working in Argentina, many in the knowledge-based sector and we hope to attract more, and be able to learn from Indian expertise in areas like innovation and sustainable development, pharmaceuticals and automotives. I look forward to attending the business forum on Monday which will allow for companies from Argentina and India to connect and look at ways to take advantage of the great potential we share in sectors of common interest.


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