- India will work closely with South American countries in areas like tele-medicine, tele-education and e-governance, Mr.Modi has promised to share IT expertise with South America
- As a BRICS member both the countries will work at a bilateral level in the G-77, as well as other international forums
- India will support South America in “space capabilities” for weather forecasting, resource mapping and disaster management in the Latin American region
- Modi emphasizes on Preferential Trade Agreements between India and the MERCOSUR and between India and Chile
- MERCOSUR— comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is formed to facilitate free movement of goods, services, MERCOSUR was formed in 1999
- MERCOSUR is the third largest integrated market after the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- PTA has been signed between India and MERCOSUR offering reciprocal tariff preferences to each other with the ultimate objective of creating a free trade area
- Other BRICS countries were also keen on closer ties with the resource-rich Latin American region
- South American heads of nations from Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay, among others, to Brazil by President Dilma Rousseff for BRICS
- New China-CELAC (Community of Latin America and Caribbean States) forum was launched and the Chinese President Xi Jinping also stayed back
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/modi-for-closer-ties-with-latin-america/article6222803.ece