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INDIA - LATIN AMERICAS BY ATRISHEKHAR - Coggle Diagram
INDIA - LATIN AMERICAS BY ATRISHEKHAR
BACKGROUND
India’s leading communist ideologue, M.N. Roy played an important role in the creation of the Mexican Communist Party in 1917.
Indian indentured labour was shipped mainly to the Caribbean.
NAM movement: As a founding member of the Non-Aligned-Movement (NAM), India generated a lot of goodwill and attracted many Latin American Countries.
Latin America denotes the region south of the United States i.e., Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and South America.
The name is given since the dominant languages spoken in the region are derived from Latin. Around 60% of the population speaks Spanish, and 30% speaks Portuguese.
There are two major trade blocs in the region
MERCOSUR
It is a Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR for its Spanish initials) in Latin America.
Genesis: Formed in 1991 with the objective of free movement of goods, services, capital and people.
State parties: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay. (Venezuela is currently suspended)
Associate Members: Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Surinam
Headquarter: Montevideo, Uruguay
Pacific Alliance
Pacific alliance include Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which all border the Pacific Ocean
“India did not enter me through my mind but through my senses.”
– OCTAVIO PAZ, THE MEXICAN NOBEL LAUREATE AND FORMER AMBASSADOR TO INDIA
Challenges in the relationship:
Distance and Lack of Connectivity
Language Barrier: Spanish and Portuguese are the dominant languages in the region, while India’s official language is Hindi and English.
Limited Cultural Understanding
Protectionist Policies: Protectionist measures (by both regions), such as tariffs and non-tariff barriers, could increase costs for businesses and restrict access to markets.
Political Instability: Political instability and economic uncertainties in some Latin American countries could deter Indian businesses from investing in the region.
Lack of High-Level Interactions: High-level interactions between India and Latin America have been limited.
COOPERATION
India and Brazil are members of the BRICS grouping and the IBSA Dialogue Forum. India has also signed strategic partnership agreements with Brazil, Mexico, and Chile.
Across Latin America, there are thousands of followers of Indian spiritual gurus like Sai Baba, Brahma Kumaris, and Hare Krishna. There is also growing interest in Indian Ayurvedic and natural products.
Today, the Indian diaspora accounts for a major portion of the populations of Trinidad, Suriname and Guyana.
India and Brazil have an MoU on cooperation in the field of Biotechnology. India and Mexico have signed an agreement on cooperation in the fields of Science and Technology.
India has signed an MoU on Defence Cooperation with Brazil. India also has defence cooperation agreements with Chile and Mexico.
Universities student and faculty exchanges. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has also been offering scholarships to LAC students for higher education in India.
Latin America is a substantially large market for Indian products. With 19 countries, a population of around 600 million and a $6 trillion GDP, there are large unexplored opportunities in LA for Indian businesses. While the exports have more than doubled from $10 bn in 2010, to $22 bn in 2022, they can very much become $50 billion by 2030.
Recently, Latin America has emerged as a main source of imports of vegetable oil (mostly soy oil). While Argentina was the #1 global supplier of soy oil with 3.3 billion dollars, Brazil contributed around $2.4 bn of vegetable oil.
Gold is a major item of import for India, with Bolivia contributing the lion’s share of $ 2.5 bn, followed by Peru ($ 1.8 bn).
Chile was the main supplier of copper and other mineral concentrates from the region with an export of $ 1.03 bn, followed by Peru $ 391 m, Panama $ 204 m and Brazil $ 141 m.
India-Latin America commerce surpassing $45 billion
Present and Possible Areas of Cooperation
Agriculture
India and LAC are today the two largest consumption economies and therefore, food security is critical to both populations.
Indian investments in the region include millet farming in Guyana, edible oil production in several countries, agrochemical manufacturing sites in Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Mexico and the setting up of agro-R&D centres.
While vegetable oil currently dominates Indian imports from the region, LAC can also become a supplier of pulses for India, which accounts for 50% of global pulse imports.
Fruits and vegetables are also exported to India by Chile and Peru and since these come during the off-season in India there is no issue from the domestic producers.
Energy
In the last fifteen years, Latin America has become a regular new source for India’s imports of crude oil.
The region as a whole has current oil reserves of 336 billion barrels, one-fifth of the total global reserves, with Venezuela alone having reserves of 298 billion barrels (the highest in the world).
Both India and Latin America are attaching priority to renewable energy such as solar and wind energy. Indian company Suzlon has done wind energy projects in Brazil and Uruguay and is on the lookout for opportunities in other countries.
Chile has massive multibillion-dollar solar energy projects in the Atacama Desert, which is a new opportunity for Indian investors and suppliers of equipment.
Brazilian companies that have contributed to the success story of the use of fuel ethanol could enter the Indian market which is trying to implement ethanol-blending of petrol.
LATEST
Crude oil imports from Venezuela, Mexico, and Brazil, accounted for 30% of India's total import from the region.
Climate Change and Renewable Energy: India extended a US$ 140 million Line of Credit to CARICOM for solar, renewable energy and climate-change related projects. CARICOM is a regional organization to promote economic integration and cooperation in the Caribbean Region.
India is partnering with Brazil to promote biofuel research and production through the Biofuture Platform.
Metal & Minerals
In FY 25, Gold and Minerals constituted the biggest imports of India from Latin America.
India is the largest importer of gold in the world, while LAC is a major producer and exporter.
India also buys precious stones from Colombia and Brazil among other countries.
Lithium, a major component of electric batteries, is also gaining prominence as India seeks to shift to EV by 2023, fueled by ‘Make in India’. Bolivia has the world’s largest reserves of Lithium, and it can help India’s electric revolution.
The supply chains are still in the developing phase which sometimes involve middle players. Direct access to each other’s economies will increase profit for both.
Pharmaceuticals
India exports almost one and a half billion dollars’ worth of pharmaceuticals to Latin America.
Ayurveda is also becoming popular in some countries of the region
The less-expensive Indian generics have helped Latin American consumers and governments to reduce the cost of healthcare
Information Technology Sector
Indian IT companies operate in most of the LA countries of the region employing over 25000 young Latin Americans.
The ‘nearshoring’ model relies on Indian software and expertise, Latin American human resources, and the advantage of working in American time zones.
RECENT
India also expanded discussions in Latin America. On April 1, 2025, India and Chile launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Chile invited Indian companies to bid for lithium mining blocks as part of a larger plan to diversify foreign investment in the critical-minerals sector. Both countries are working to strengthen cooperation in mining, agriculture, science, technology and climate action.
The Prime Minister was conferred Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.
Trinidad & Tobago: India announced the extension of OCI cards to the sixth-generation diaspora.
DEFENCE COOPERATION
India and Brazil have deepened defence cooperation with Joint Defence Committee meetings and established a 2+2 Political-Military dialogue.
Critical Minerals Security: KABIL signed an agreement with CAMYEN to acquire five lithium blocks in Argentina, marking the first lithium exploration and mining project by an Indian state-owned company.
Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, called the Lithium Triangle, hold over 75% of global reserves.
Food Security: Latin America has become a key supplier of food commodities to India such as edible oils and pulses.
Argentina is one of the primary suppliers of edible oils, especially soybean oil, to India.
Economic & Trade Relations
Total trade with the region reached USD 35.73 billion in 2023-24.
Investments: Indian companies have invested USD 12 billion in the past 15 years in IT, pharmaceuticals, energy, mining, manufacturing and agro-chemicals.
India has a Preferential Trade Agreement with MERCOSUR.
BRAZIL
Brazil’s oil and mineral exports, combined with India’s pharmaceuticals and automobiles, dominated bilateral trade, which reached $12.2 billion in FY 2024–2025
Leaders established an ambitious $20 billion aim over five years.
establishment of a Brazil-India Business Council, and the opening of an Exim Bank of India branch in São Paulo
In addition to “India’s involvement in Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Fund ahead of COP30 in Belém, in biofuels through the Global Biofuels Alliance, with cooperative R&D on sustainable aviation fuels and flex-fuel vehicles
ARGENTINA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s July 2025 visit to Buenos Aires, which commemorated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties established in 1948, was a historic occasion, the first prime ministerial trip in 57 years
reaffirming and revitalising the strategic partnership across defence, energy, critical minerals, and pharmaceuticals
Argentina’s exports of lithium, soybean oil, and agri-commodities, along with India’s pharmaceuticals, cars, and IT services, drove bilateral trade to $5.23 billion in 2024, double from prior years.
While lithium Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) strengthened green supply chains essential for India’s aspirations for electric vehicles and batteries, focus areas expanded to defence co-development and technology transfers, possibly including joint ventures in aircraft and marine patrol.
Argentina’s financial industry is expected to be modernised by digital health efforts and UPI development, emulating India’s exports of digital public infrastructure to the Global South.
On decolonisation problems like the Malvinas (Falklands), where India’s neutral UN posture supports Argentina’s sovereignty claims and fosters stronger political trust
CHILE
Building on the 2007 Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), India-Chile ties made significant progress toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2025,
Chile seeks Indian investments in infrastructure, renewable energy, and metro projects while prioritising agricultural exports like avocados and cherries, along with copper and lithium, which are essential for India’s green transition.
In the Indo-Pacific, where Chile’s Antarctic ambitions collide with India’s SAGAR doctrine, space sector Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) promote satellite data exchange and collaborative operations, improving marine domain awareness.
