Buenos Aires [Argentina] July 5 : As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on the way to Argentina, Indian Ambassador Ajaneesh Kumar hailed it a "momentous occasion," noting it will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian PM in over five decades.
Argentina would be the third leg of PM Modi's five-nation tour after Ghana, and Trinidad and Tobago. It will be followed by visits to Brazil for the 17th BRICS Summit and to Namibia.
Laying out the itinerary of the PM's visit, Ambassador Kumar told ANI that upon reaching Argentina, PM Modi will be received by the Indian community in Buenos Aires. On the next day, PM, Modi will pay homage to Jose de San Martin, widely regarded as the Father of the Argentine Nation, at the Plaza de San Martin in Buenos Aires.
PM Modi will also hold delegation-level talks with Argentine President Javier Milei.
"Prime Minister arrives late in the evening... He will be received by the community... The next day, the Prime Minister will pay his respects and homage to the father of the Argentine nation. He's commonly known as the Libertadores Plaza de San Martin. At the Plaza, he would be joined by the foreign minister of this country. Thereafter, he will have an official delegation-level meeting at the Casa Rosada, which is the president's office. He will meet the President of Argentina, Javier Milei," Ajaneesh Kumar said.
Ajaneesh Kumar also emphasised that this will be the first visit by the Indian Prime Minister in over five decades and mentioned the "multifaceted" relations between both nations.
"Prime Minister Modi's visit to Argentina is a momentous occasion in our bilateral relations. This visit is coming after a long time, over five decades. Prime Minister had the occasion to meet the President of Argentina last November during the G20 in Brazil. This visit will only consolidate the points discussed during the last meeting. India and Argentina relations are multifaceted. We have cooperation across a range of subjects. It was only last year that we celebrated 75 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries," he said.
Ambassador Ajaneesh Kumar also shed light on India-Argentina cooperation in various sectors
"There is a wide segment of sectors in which the two countries are cooperating already and some of them we need to open the doors and windows for the future... We have a good cooperation going between the energy companies of India... We have a good representation of Indian two-wheelers in Argentina... Argentina is a major agricultural country, and we have tractors present here," he said.
He also suggested that Argentina could benefit from India's pharmaceutical sector, as India is referred to as the "pharmacy of the world."
"There is another sector which needs to be looked at very carefully, and Argentina can make use of, and that is the Indian pharmaceutical and medical devices sector... India is called the pharmacy of the world, and the medical devices made in India are of top grade. They have found markets all over Europe, in the European Union as well as in the United States... I don't see any reason why they cannot come to the Argentine market and the people of this country benefit at a cheaper cost and good quality," he said.
Additionally, President of CIARA, Argentine Edible Oil Association, Gustavo Idigoras, highlighted the significance of PM Modi's visit to the South American nations, pressing on the need to have a closer economic and commercial relationship with India.
"This visit of PM Modi in Argentina will be the most important visit in the last 20 years. Argentina needs to have a closer economic and commercial relationship with India. We are promoting better dialogue," Gustavo Idigoras said.
"The Argentine administration and President Milei are totally convinced that he needs to work more closely with PM Modi. We are very happy to receive him with the idea to boost and double the bilateral trade, which is currently more than 5 billion (dollars). Our idea is to try to reach more than 8 billion in the next 3-4 years," he added.
PM Modi is headed for Buenos Aires at the official invitation of the President of the Republic of Argentina. After completing his visit to Argentina, PM Modi will head to Brazil from July 5 to July 8 to attend the 17th BRICS Summit 2025. In the final leg of his five-nation tour, the PM will visit Namibia and also address its parliament.