CII launches India Business Forum for Latin America, Caribbean

Industry body CII has launched an India Business Forum (IBF) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, to promote Indian businesses and identify challenges and opportunities there.
The CII IBF, a group of 25 Indian companies operating in the LAC region, also proposes to have regular dialogues with all stakeholders in the region and in India raise pertinent issues related to the industry.
Anita Praveen, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, responsible for the LAC Region, officially launched the India Business Forum on September 28 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
India-LAC commercial ties have steadily increased from approximately USD 2 billion in 2001 to around USD 50 billion in 2015.

India has become a key trading partner for countries in the region like Venezuela, which is presently its largest source of oil after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
"Indian exports to Brazil, the largest export market in LAC, stood at USD 5.96 billion in 2014-15, more than India's exports to France or Japan. Similarly, Mexico has become a key partner for the Indian automobile sector, and in 2014-15, was the single largest destination of India's automobile exports," CII said.
India exports pharmaceutical products, automobiles and auto parts, chemical fertilisers, etc to LAC.