Strengthening bilateral ties between the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) and India will be mutually beneficial as it provides huge opportunity for both the regions, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) said.
In the last decade, India's total trade with LAC has more than doubled to reach USD 36 billion in 2017, with significant untapped potential for expanding, Debasish Mallick, deputy managing director of the Exim Bank of India said.
"The potential strength of this partnership can be gauged from the fact that the combined GDP of the two regions is close to USD 8.1 trillion with a combined population of almost 2 billion people," he said.
In an era of growing challenges in the world economy, diversification of trade partners and access to new markets has become a priority for both the sides, he explained
R Viswanathan, former ambassador and former distinguished Fellow, Latin America Studies, Gateway House, said, the LAC has phenomenal potential and India should grab the opportunity of setting ambitious targets of increasing bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2025 (including targeted exports of USD 50 billion) from the USD 36 billion levels and of 2017.
"India is the second largest importer of crude oil from LAC and we should look at increasing crude oil exports from here to mitigate risks emerging from instability in the Middle East region," he said.
Indian exporters can tap opportunities in business sectors such as communications, alternative and renewable energy, coal, oil and natural gas, machinery and mechanical appliances, plastics and petroleum products amongst others, he pointed.
India has become Argentina's fifth-ranking export market, Chile's sixth, Brazil and Paraguay's eighth, and Bolivia's 10th. LAC, for its part, allocates 2.1 per cent of its exports to India and receives 1.5 per cent of its imports from that country, the statement said.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
