Current Article: Visit of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to India

• This trip has marked 15 years since the last visit by a head of state of Argentina – then president Carlos Menem’s trip to India in 1994.
• A reciprocal visit by former Indian prime minister P.V Narasimha Rao took place in 1994.
• India and Argentina signify a robust economic relationship, bilateral trade volume has increased by 87 percent in five years from $694 million in 2003 to $1.3 billion in 2008.
• Formal Relationships of India & Argentina began in 1949 when ‘Agreement by exchange of notes establishing Diplomatic Relations’ was signed between India & Argentina.
• India shares very warm business and political / diplomatic relations with Argentina.
• India has an embassy in Buenos Aires.
• Argentina has an embassy in New Delhi.
• Indians have expressed its desires to agree with the Argentinian claims on British colonies in Southern Atlantic Ocean and other territorial border disputes with Chile.
• Argentina has been a major source of agricultural products, especially edible oils like soya and sunflower oil.
• The balance of trade is in favour of Argentina, with imports at $836 million, being nearly double of exports from India at $492 million in 2008.
• With India being a large scale importer of oilseeds and pulses, Argentina will continue to be a major source, especially due to its higher agricultural productivity, which is almost three times that of India.
• Acquisition of large swathes of agricultural land has also been explored by some Indian groups, like Solvents Extractors Association of India and State Trading Corporation.
• Indian companies have already made investments in information technology, pharmaceuticals, agro-chemicals and mining sectors in Argentina to the tune of $119 million.

History of India Argentina Bilateral Relationsips:

• 1949: Agreement by exchange of notes establishing Diplomatic Relations
• 1952: Barter Agreement (wheat jute)(This is Extinct)
• 1967: India Argentina Commercial Agreement
• 1968 : Agreement on Visa Exemption from Payment of passports of both countries
• 1974: India Argentina Cultural Convention
• 1981: India Argentin Commercial Agreement
• 1982: Joint Communique
• 1984: Final Act of the First Meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade
• 1985: India Argentina Cultural Exchange Program 1985-1987
• 1985: Convention on Technical and Scientific Cooperation (effective 1988)
• 1985: Economic Cooperation Agreement (effective 1988)
• 1991: Agreement by exchange of notes extending the term of the Convention for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy Peaceful
• 1993: Agreement by exchange of notes on Abolition of Visas for Businessmen
• 1993: Memorandum of Understanding on Consultation Mechanism
• 1994: Cultural Memorandum
• 1994: Agreement by exchange of notes on Suppression of Visas in Diplomatic and Official Passports
• 1994: Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Bank for Investment and Trade SA (BICE) of Argentina and the Eximbank INDIA
• 1994: Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Export-Import Bank of India and the Bank for Investment and Trade SA (BICE) of Argentina
• 1994: Agreement by exchange of notes establishing an Argentine-India Joint Commission
• 1998: Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Antarctica (Important)
• 1999: Agreement between the Government of Argentina and the Government of the Republic of India on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (effective 2002)
• 2006: Memorandum of Understanding on Antarctic Cooperation between the Government of Argentina and the Government of the Republic of India.

India’s Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

• After signing this agreement in Civil Nuclear Cooperation , Argentina has become the seventh country with which India has signed a civil nuclear agreement after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a 34-year-old ban on nuclear commerce in September 2008.
• The other countries with which India has such pacts are United States, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Mongolia.

India and Argentina will make use of the synergies between the two countries and the vast experience of their nuclear scientists and technologists-joint statement issued after the talks

Apart from sigining a civil nuclear pact to encourage and support scientific technical and commercial co-operation for mutual benefit in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy 8 other agreements were also signed along with extensive discussions with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.

The Other Pacts are as follows:

1. Pact on business visas signed by External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna and his Argentine counterpart Jorge Taiana.
2. Institutional Cooperation Agreement between the Argentina Council on Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India
3. MoU between Argentina and India on Programme of Cooperation in Science & Technology for 2009-11.
4. MoU between Argentina and India on Cooperation in the field of Trade Promotion and Technology transfer in International Trade.
5. MoU between Argentina and India on INTI and National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).
6. MoU between Argentina and India on ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and ENARSA.
7. MoU between Argentina and India on Sports Cooperation.
8. MOU between Argentina & India on Hydrocarbons

India Argentina Economic Relationships:

1. Many Indian companies have made investments in Argentina in the sectors like information technology, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and mining sectors.
2. The investments by Indian companies are estimated to the tune of US$ 119 million.
3. They employ around 1,300 Argentine nationals.
4. A few Argentine companies have also set up operations in India in the engineering and pharma sectors. On the energy front, Indian and Argentine companies are discussing cooperation in oil and gas sectors.
5. The bilateral trade between the two countries has witnessed quantum jump during the last 5 years from about US$ 611.29 million in 2003-04 to US $ 1.196 billion in 2007-08.
6. Indian exports to Argentina during this period grew from US$ 87.33 million to US$ 289.68 million.
7. Imports from Argentina, on the other hand, went up from US$ 523.96 in 2003-04 to US$ 905.87 million in 2007-08.
8. Principal items of India’s exports are chemicals, automobiles (including 2-wheelers) auto parts, textiles and garments, engineering goods, electrical & electronic equipment, metal products, hand tools, rubber & plastic products, jute yarn and products, essential oils, leather & leather products, etc.
9. Chemical products account for about 40 % of India’s total exports to Argentina.
10. Principal items of India’s imports include edible oils (constituting 75 % of total imports), chemicals, iron and steel products, cotton yarn, wool, leather, wood pulp, paper and paper board, zinc, copper waste and scrap etc.
11. Two countries had set a trade target of $3 billion by 2012 from $1.3 billion in 2008.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2009