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Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Argentina highlights its growing strategic importance for India.

India-Argentina Relations

India opened a Trade Commission in Buenos Aires in 1943, which later became one of India's first embassies in South America in 1949.

Argentina established a Consulate in Kolkata in the 1920s, which then moved to Delhi as an embassy in 1950. Argentina also maintains a Consulate General in Mumbai since April 2009.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Argentina in July 2025 marks a historic milestone, being the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 57 years.  

Argentina consistently supports India on counter-terrorism platforms, including strong backing at the United Nations following terror attacks. India, in turn, supports Argentina on the sovereignty issue of the Malvinas Islands and sovereign debt servicing.

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Economic and Commercial Ties

Trade Volume => Bilateral trade more than doubled from 2019 to 2022, reaching a peak of USD 6.4 billion. Due to a severe drought in Argentina, trade declined to USD 3.9 billion in 2023 but rebounded to USD 5.2 billion in 2024 with improved weather and economic stability.  

Trading Partnership => India is Argentina's fourth-largest trading partner and export destination.

• India's Exports to Argentina: Petroleum oils, agro chemicals, yarn-fabric-madeups, organic chemicals, bulk drugs, and two wheelers.
• India's Imports from Argentina: Primarily vegetable oils (especially soybean and sunflower oil, which constitute over 50% of bilateral trade), finished leather, cereals, residual chemicals, and pulses.

Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) => A PTA between India and MERCOSUR (which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) became operational in 2009. Both countries seek to expand this agreement to unlock new opportunities.

Critical Minerals => India seeks to secure critical minerals, particularly lithium, for its green energy transition.

• Argentina, part of the "Lithium Triangle," holds rich reserves of lithium, copper, and rare earth elements.
• An MoU on mineral cooperation was signed in 2022, and the first joint working group meeting occurred in January 2025.
• Indian public entities like KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Limited) and Coal India hold concessions for lithium exploration in Argentina's Catamarca province.

Energy Cooperation => Argentina offers significant potential as an energy partner with the world's second-largest shale gas and fourth-largest shale oil reserves.

• Argentina's YPF signed an MoU in January 2025 with ONGC Videsh, OIL, and GAIL for cooperation in the energy and mining sector, targeting up to 10 million tons of LNG exports annually from Vaca Muerta shale by 2029.

Defense and Strategic Cooperation

Key Areas => Cooperation extends to military training, capacity building, and technology transfer.

Defense Trade => India is emerging as a significant exporter of defense equipment, and Argentina seeks to modernize its armed forces through acquisitions from India.

Helicopter Maintenance => India offers support for maintaining and upgrading Argentina's helicopter fleet, leveraging its extensive experience in Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO).

Nuclear Energy => Both countries cooperate in peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The Heavy Water Board of India signed an agreement with Argentina's Nuclear Electric Company (NASA) in November 2024 for heavy water supply. Collaboration on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) is also being explored.

Cultural and People-to-People Connections

The visit of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore to Argentina in 1924, where he stayed as a guest of Victoria Ocampo, deepened cultural bonds. Tagore dedicated his poetry collection "Purabi" to Ocampo, and Visva Bharati University later awarded Ocampo an honorary doctorate.

Cultural Exchange => Admiration for Indian culture, including yoga, meditation, philosophy, dance, and music, is prevalent in Argentina. Conversely, Argentinian culture, such as tango and polo, finds popularity in India.

Academic Collaboration => Argentine diplomats attend courses at India's Foreign Service Training Institute. The University of Buenos Aires offers postgraduate courses in Ayurveda in collaboration with Gujarat Ayurveda University.

Sports Diplomacy => India and Argentina explore cooperation in sports management, leveraging India's strength in cricket and Argentina's in football. Argentine football legend Diego Maradona visited India, and several Argentine players participated in the Indian Super League.

Digital Payment Infrastructure => India's UPI system has drawn praise from Argentina, discussions on sharing digital payment infrastructure.

Key Outcomes of July 2025 Visit

Both leaders agreed to enhance collaboration in critical sectors including trade, technology, defense, space, health, and pharmaceuticals.

Discussions focused on diversifying the trade basket and establishing a joint working group on agriculture to enhance market access for dairy and farm products and explore technology sharing.

India highlighted its strength in affordable, high-quality medicines and discussed upgrading Argentina's pharmaceutical import policy to facilitate smoother entry for Indian products.

Cooperation in telemedicine and digital health solutions, along with India's NavIC satellite navigation system for fisheries, was explored.

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Source: 

INDIAN EXPRESS

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