New Delhi, Apr 1:
India and Chile today agreed to launch negotiations on a mutually beneficial Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting President of Chile Gabriel Boric.
PM Modi said in his address: “Today we have decided to begin negotiations on a mutually beneficial Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and we have directed our teams to work on this.
“We have also decided to promote cooperation in the area of Critical Minerals. We will also work to establish resilient supply and value chains,” the PM added.
The Chilean President said in a post on X:
“From New Delhi, together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we announce the start of negotiations toward a free trade agreement with India, tremendous news that formalizes our commitment to working together with such an important country in today’s world.
“This is in addition to the agreements we have reached regarding cooperation in mining training and exploration, disaster management, and collaboration in the cultural and Antarctic spheres.
“We continue working for increased investment and employment, the diversification of our economy, and to further strengthen our ties with a friendly country like India.”
The MEA spokesperson said in a post on X:
“India-Chile. United for progress.
“PM @narendramodi & President @GabrielBoric of Chile held wide ranging discussions at Hyderabad House today.
“Both leaders welcomed the launch of CEPA negotiations to further deepen India-Chile ties in trade, science & technology, critical minerals, health, agriculture, climate change and people to people ties.
“They also exchanged views on global issues of mutual interest.”
President Gabriel Boric Font, who arrived at the head of a high-level delegation, is on a state visit from April 1-5.
President Boric is visiting India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Besides Ministers, his delegation includes Members of Parliament, senior officials, business associations, media and prominent Chileans involved in the India-Chile cultural connect.
This is President Boric’s
“Will increase cooperation
first visit to India in his official capacity. He will also visit Agra, Mumbai, and Bengaluru before returning to Chile on April 5, a statement said.
The two sides saw warming of their ties during the visit of Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto Van Klaveren, in August last year. The Chilean FM had met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, during which the two sides discussed launching negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The two nations have a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), signed in 2006, and are keen to expand their trade ties.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) held a special briefing on Tuesday on the sidelines of the visit of Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font to India and noted key areas of collaboration between the two countries. The briefing highlighted the two countries aiming to strengthen partnership in critical minerals sector, and research on Antarctica amongst other areas.
The briefing was chaired by MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, Secretary (East) P Kumaram, Ambassador in Chile, Abhilasha Joshi and Praphullachandra Sharma, Joint Secretary (Latin America and Caribbean).
Speaking on the area of partnership in critical minerals, P Kumaram highlighted that “24 per cent of Copper of the world output is out of Chile, and 30 per cent of the world’s lithium comes out of Chile.”
He noted that mining contributes about 13 per cent to Chile’s GDP, and said “These are areas of interest to India because these are materials that are critical to developing new and emerging technologies such as EVs, battery technologies, new generation batteries that can increase range. so all these are naturally of great importance to us.”
In his remarks, he mentioned that critical minerals are very important and highlighted the MoU signed between India and Chile for partnership in the critical mineral sector.
He observed that critical minerals are also a part of the CEPA discussions.
“This will naturally involve Indian investments, possibly some kind of value addition in Chile. Chilean side is very keen that investors come and add value in Chile before taking the refined material out of Chile”, Kumram said.
Speaking about Antarctica, Kumaram said, “There is a lot of interest on our side in Antarctica. Chile is very well-placed geographically when it comes to Antarctica. Chile offers itself as a natural partner for us to understand Antarctica better and the challenges associated with polar regions. So obviously we are very keen to work with Chile in the area of Antarctic research.”
He highlighted that PM Modi and the Chilean President held discussions on the latter’s visit and experience of Antarctica last year and asked PM Modi to visit Chile sometime and undertake a visit to Antarctica.
Speaking about CEPA, he noted that India’s interests include areas such as expanding agricultural exports, securing critical minerals, and on the Chilean side, the interest is on exporting some of their agricultural products that are not necessarily available in our market. He added that there is also an interest on the Chilean side to try and diversify their trade partners to include other large emerging economies.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Boric’s visit from April 1-5 is aimed at strengthening economic, political, and cultural ties. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers, members of parliament, senior officials, business leaders, media representatives, and cultural figures engaged in India-Chile exchanges.
