Supply chain resilience, resource partnerships key for India-Latin America relations: Jaishankar
New Delhi: Supply chain diversification and resource partnerships are key pillars driving intensified engagement between India and Latin America, said external affairs minister S Jaishankar. “The pandemic has shown that today there is an urgent global need for more resilience and reliability of supply chains, whether it is energy, whether it is food or whether it is even consumer security," Jaishankar said, speaking at the CII India-LAC Conclave. “The international economy today needs multiple and redundant sourcing, it needs more diversified production and that is something where there are new opportunities for us," he added.
Given India’s growing economic heft, the demand for energy and resources will continue to expand. This represents an opportunity for Latin America, Jaishankar said. During his remarks, he pointed out that India imports crude oil and POL (petroleum, oils and lubricants) products of around $7 billion from Mexico, Colombia and others.
“The region is a big source of gold, copper and other mineral concentrates and also for wood. India’s gold import from the region last year stood in excess of 6.5 billion dollars," he added. This resource partnership forms the second pillar of the India-Latin America partnership.
The third pillar will be the sharing of development experiences. “As countries of the global south, we can surely benefit if we actually talk to each other about digital capabilities, about health solutions, about agricultural practices, and about infrastructure capabilities. Increased training and exchanges will encourage more market exposure," Jaishankar added.
He said his ministry is looking to expand these training programs. Addressing global challenges will be the fourth pillar. Climate
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