As a part of the first India-CELAC foreign ministers’ meeting, the External Affairs Minister of India, S. M. Krishna, will meet the Chilean Foreign Minister, Alfredo Moreno Charme, Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro, and the Cuban Vice Foreign Minister, Rogelio Sierra, on 7 August, in New Delhi.
“The meeting will provide a unique platform for both sides to discuss a vision for building India-CELAC relations. [S. M. Krishna and the CELAC troika] will also discuss various regional developments and multilateral issues of mutual interest,” said the Ministry of External Affairs, in a press release.
The discovery of off-shore oil in Brazil and Colombia has raised the profile of this region, making it a hub of foreign investments. This dialogue is part of India’s diplomatic initiatives to step up its engagement with this fast-growing resource-rich region.
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), formed in February 2010, is a regional group comprising of 33 Sovereign States of Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) region.
India currently enjoys friendly relations with all the CELAC countries. In 2011, India’s trade with the region was over 25 billion USD; cumulative investments are estimated to be 16 billion USD, mostly in sectors like hydrocarbons, minerals, agriculture, pharmaceutical and IT.