Chile’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Alberto van Klaveren, who was on an official visit to India, headed the 2ndChile-India High-Level Joint Committee meeting along with Dr. S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister. Both sides held discussions on several topics of interest: economic, commercial, political, and bilateral collaboration.
According to Minister van Klaveren, Chile and India have a unique perspective on bilateral agenda that encompasses even multilateral relations. He said the delegations spoke on trade, investment, cultural exchange, and technological collaboration. They also explored various areas with shared interests of both nations and discussed the possibility of cooperation in those sectors for mutual benefit. Some discussion topics were trade ties, defence, agriculture, digital public infrastructure, science, health and technology, culture, education, and Antarctica.
Minister van Klaveren added that the discussions enabled both nations to ponder the collective fight against terrorism and climate change, energy transition, sustainable development, and the fight against cybercrime. Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Jaishankar noted: “Discussed our cooperation in trade & investment, critical minerals, agriculture, defence, railways, health, space, culture and people-to-people ties. Also exchanged views on global hotspots and developments in each others regions.” He added that such meetings would facilitate the growth of the relationship between Chile and India on their 75th anniversary.
Minister van Klaveren also met with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal and spoke about strengthening the trade ties between the two nations. The Minister was also invited to speak at the Centre for International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Chile’s vision of Latin America, Asia and the world.
During the Minister’s visit, ProChile organised the Chile Summit India 2024. Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Esteban Valenzuela, and the general director of ProChile, Mr. Ignacio Fernández, inaugurated the event along with Minister van Klaveren. The event sought to strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Chile by identifying trade opportunities between the two nations. Minister van Klaveren noted that India’s market is known for its economic and cultural diversity. He says Chile’s economic openness makes the nation a key strategic partner in Latin America.
Minister Esteban noted an excellent export potential in India for the Chilean industry of fresh fruit, wine, nuts, meat, and forest products. Speaking about the importance of the first Chile Summit India 2024, the Minister added that there is a considerable demand for Indian products in Chile.
Minister Esteban met with the Indian Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Dairy, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh, and closed a wine masterclass organised by Wines of Chile. Another delegation also visited the famous Khari Baoli market in New Delhi, known for selling Chilean walnuts. The delegation explored the possible ways to promote and introduce Chilean products in Indian markets.
India and Chile signed a Preferential Trade Agreement in 2006. Since it covered a limited number of items, the Agreement was expanded in 2017, where it gave preferential tariffs to 1,110 Chilean products. With a bilateral trade value of $2.7 billion in 2023-24 and a key supplier of non-copper and non-lithium products, Chile is an important trading partner for India in Latin America.
