PM lays wreath at San Martin Memorial in Argentina
Buenos Aires, Jul 05: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with Argentine President Javier Milei, focusing on boosting bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including critical minerals, trade and investment and energy.
Modi arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday on a two-day trip in the third leg of his five-nation tour.
In their talks, Modi and Milei primarily focused on expanding the India-Argentina ties in a range of key areas including trade, investment, energy agriculture and critical minerals, it is learnt.
The relationship between the two countries was elevated to strategic partnership during the visit to India of the then Argentine President Mauricio Macri in February, 2019.
The two sides have been cooperating in several key areas such as trade, defence, critical minerals, oil and gas, nuclear energy, agriculture, cultural and technology.
India and Argentina have significant cooperation in the mineral resources sector, particularly in lithium — a critical input for India’s green energy transition.
An MoU on cooperation in the field of mineral resources was signed in August 2022. The first meeting of the joint working group, set up under the framework of the MoU, was held in January.
The India-Argentina bilateral trade has been on an upswing. The trade volume more than doubled in three years from 2019 to 2022, peaking at USD 6.4 billion in 2022.
In 2021 and 2022, India was Argentina’s fourth largest trading partner.
In 2024, total annual bilateral trade between India and Argentina was USD 5.23 billion, positioning India as Argentina’s fifth-largest trading partner and export destination.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on laid a wreath here at the memorial of General Jose de San Martin, regarded as a national hero in Argentina.
Jose Francisco de San Martin y Matorras is also known as the liberator of the South American nations Argentina, Chile and Peru. The monument was created in 1862 by French sculptor Louis Joseph Daumas.
After the ceremony, Modi was received by President Javier Milei at Casa Rosada, the seat of Argentina government, here for bilateral engagements.
PM Modi arrived in Argentina on Friday evening on a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with the country’s top leadership to review ongoing cooperation and discuss ways to enhance bilateral partnership in key areas.
This is the first Indian bilateral visit at the prime ministerial level to Argentina in 57 years. It is Modi’s second visit to the country as prime minister; he had visited in 2018 for the G20 Summit.
It also marks the third stop on the prime minister’s five-nation visit.
Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with President Milei to further boost India-Argentina partnership in key areas including defence, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, trade and investment, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“The bilateral visit of the prime minister will further deepen the multifaceted strategic partnership between India and Argentina,” it said in a statement ahead of Modi’s visit.
In his departure statement, the prime minister said that Argentina is a key economic partner in Latin America and a close collaborator in the G20 and that he looked forward to discussions with President Javier Milei, whom he had met last year.
Modi reached here after concluding his two-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago, during which the two countries inked six agreements to expand bilateral ties.
In the fourth leg of his visit, Modi will travel to Brazil to attend the 17th BRICS Summit, followed by a state visit. In the final leg of his visit, Modi will travel to Namibia.(PTI)
