India to host Latin American Foreign Ministers meet next month
India to host Latin American Foreign Ministers meet next month
PTI | 08:07 PM,Jul 10,2012
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) India will host its first dialogue with Foreign Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries next month aimed at expanding the ties with that region. India will be hosting the first India-CELAC Foreign Ministers' Dialogue here on August 7, 2012. "The Foreign Minister's of Chile, Cuba and Venezuela are expected to participate in the Troika format. The External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will be the host to the event," M Ganapathi, Secretary (West), MEA, said in his address at the ICWA National Consultations on India-LAC Relations. The formation of CELAC (Community of Latin American Countries) is a recent phenomenon and it came into existence only last December. Ganapathi was candid in his speech and said "let me be frank and honest enough to admit that our approach to this region has been admittedly slow". He said there are ready excuses like distance, poor connectivity and language constraints. "However, these are unacceptable and we need to do more. We are determined to overcome any mindset which may have inhibited an enhanced engagement with the region," he said. He said trade and investment relations with the region are growing at a rapid pace. From a mere USD 2 billion in 2000, bilateral trade with the region has crossed a record USD 25 billion. "However, this is not much – it is only one-tenth of that of China's and only one per cent of the region’s overall trade. "Our investments in the region are estimated to be of the order of around USD 15 billion. If you look at the rate of growth, perhaps, this is the fastest growing region in the world today," he said.
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