9th CII India-LAC Conclave Begins in New Delhi

The IX India-Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Conclave began on Thursday in the city of New Delhi, with the participation of delegations from Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and Chile, among other countries.

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The Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, gave the opening speech of the forum, which has the participation of the Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, among other Latin American and Caribbean officials.

"Since Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi came to office (2014), our ties with Latin America and the Caribbean have moved on a new trajectory," the foreign minister said.

According to official figures, trade between the two regions is around US$ 50 billion during the last 12 months.

Jaishankar pointed out that India exports to Brazil to the tune of $10 billion, "almost double what we actually export to Japan".

"Similarly, our exports to Mexico are over $5 billion, which is actually more than our exports to Canada," he mentioned.

"It is safe to state today a figure of around $15 billion as the current investment by Indian companies in this region, and that is also a reflection of the levels of interest that Indian companies have in the region," the minister noted.

In declarations prior to the beginning of the meeting, Vice-President Rodriguez said that she will offer to the Indian businessmen present at the conclave "the great investment opportunities that Venezuela has and to see the exportable offer that our country has".

"We have arrived in India, a world power, to participate, on behalf of President Nicolas Maduro, in the 9th India-LAC Conclave, as well as to attend to an important bilateral agenda that benefits our peoples!," Rodriguez tweeted before the event. 

Moreover, in the past, Venezuela expressed its willingness to increase oil exports to India, which is in turn the base of Reliance Industries Limited, one of the few refineries capable of processing Venezuelan medium and heavy crudes.