PM Modi, Argentine President Milei agree to diversify bilateral trade basket

Buenos Aires: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Argentine President Javier Milei on Saturday agreed to diversify India-Argentina trade basket and vowed to expand cooperation in a range of critical areas such as defence, security, energy and minerals.

In their wide-ranging talks, the two leaders emphasised on boosting defence cooperation between the two countries as it will serve each other's strategic interests.

Modi arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday on a two-day trip in the third leg of his five-nation tour. Though Modi visited Argentina in 2018 to attend the G20 Summit, it is the first bilateral visit to the South American country by an Indian prime minister after a gap of 57 years.

In a social media post, Modi said he and President Milei discussed ways to diversify trade ties and enhance cooperation in sectors such as agriculture, defence, security and energy.

"There is immense scope in areas like pharmaceuticals and sports as well," he said.

The prime minister described his meeting with Milei as "excellent".

"We are marking 75 years of India-Argentina diplomatic relations and 5 years since we elevated our relationship to a Strategic Partnership. We have covered significant ground in our bilateral relations, but we agree that the journey ahead is even more promising," the prime minister posted on X.

Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Periasamy Kumaran said the two leaders agreed to enhance India-Argentina collaboration across a range of sectors, including trade and commerce, technology, defence, space, health and pharmaceuticals.

Modi and Milei also agreed to further deepen the strategic partnership, he said adding they discussed the necessity to expand and diversify trade.

At a press conference, Kumaran said Prime Minister Modi sought Argentina's support in expanding the India-MERCOSUR trade agreement, noting that it could deepen trade ties between the two nations as well.

The preferential trade agreement (PTA) is aimed at expanding economic ties between India and the MERCOSUR bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Modi and Milei also underlined the need to enhance access for agricultural products in each other's markets and issued instructions to respective officials to set up a joint working group on agriculture.

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, culture 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 $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 $5.23 billion, positioning India as Argentina's fifth-largest trading partner and export destination.