Reported(Interview) by Ameya Sathaye & V N Jha
(Written by TN Ashok)
New Delhi, Aug 18: Argentina, a key South American ally in the Latin American continent, has offered India logistics support for its Make in India campaign by not only extending it from across the seas but also help in developing it locally.
India faces problems after producing goods, they relate to logistics, movement of the produce across the globe. Argentina can help India in logistics development, said the Argentine Ambassador to India, Mr.Raúl Ignacio Guastavino in an exclusive interview to Diplomacyindia.com
Argentina has the expertise, know-how and people, we can help India in those aspects, the ambassador said.
The Argentine ambassador said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign and Swacch Bharat (Clean India) were India’s response to the new ways global commerce was operating. “We are in a global value chain and if we don’t value this in our own countries, then we will lose the chain”, he said.
He said presently production was organized in global value chains in which entrepreneurs and companies sought to benefit by exploiting the difference of costs, technology and logistics between countries and regions. From a grovernment’s perspective, however, in respect of developing countries such as Argentina and India, the integration to a global value chain has to be compatible with the legitimate aspiration of addressing poverty and promoting sustainable development.
“Make in India” and “Swach Bharat” are, he pointed out , to some extent, PM Modi’s answer to this challenge. And in Argentina we also have the national imperative for growth with social inclusion. These common interests and aspirations should be fundamental to keep building a mutually beneficial relationship between our two countries.
India has answered to this very correctly, the ambassador pointed out saying his own country had adopted a similar campaign like the Make in India one but that it did not affix any name to it. The approach and objective was the same: Bring in investments, produce in the country and add value to it and then compete with the rest of the world.
The Argentinian Envoy said his country had a long history of cultural and political relations with India which had only grown from strength to strength ever since the visit of the Nobel Laureate Poet Rabindranath Tagore. Since then the visit of Argentinians to India had steadily increased, he said.
The Argentinian Envoy said y said his country and India were “co- operating very gently” in two important fields on the international scene — food security and energy security. .
Elaborating on the question of cooperation in the field of energy security between Argentina and India, the Argentinian ambassador said India and Argentina are partners in very significant fields such as nuclear energy, science and technology, oil and gas, among others.
A bilateral Agreement on Cooperation of Pacific(peaceful) Uses of Nuclear Energy is in force between the two countries since 2013. Argentina is highly interested in the development of both, cooperative and industrial bilateral partnerships in this field. Therefore, we should encourage reciprocal visits of high authorities from both countries nuclear agencies and companies, he said.
Some recent developments in this regard are auspicious , he said adding in June last year the Argentine company INVAP won the international tender to build a plant in India for the production of radioisotopes. This nuclear technology has many applications, not only in medicine for the treatment of cancer, but also in several industrial processes including food preservation. ]
Again on the other hand, in September 2014, YPF and Oil & Natural Gas Commission Videsh Ltd. (OVL), the major oil and gas companies respectively in Argentina and in India, signed a memorandum for cooperation in the “upstream” sector (exploration and production), in R&D and in human resources. Another agreement on renewable energies is also under negotiation between both countries, the envoy stated.
With regard to educational exchange, there is a proposal for strengthening cooperation in engineering studies between the two Ministries of Education, he said.
The Argentine ambassador also answered a host of questions sent in written format to him with written replies.
Excerpts from the Interview:
Q: Which are the prominent Indian companies working in Argentina in the field of IT, manufacturing and mining, pharma etc.?
A: About 13 Indian companies have established operations in Argentina: seven of them are from the sectors of IT (Information Technologies), ITeS (Information Technologies Enabling Services) and other Technical and Professional Services: Cognizant Technology Solutions, HCL, Tata Consultancy Services, Aegis Group, Crisil-Irevna, Copal Partners and Cellent; two are from the agrochemicals sectors (United Phosphorus Ltd. and Punjab Chemicals & Crop Protection Ltd.); one from the metals sector (Arcelor Mittal); one from capital goods (Sonalika International Tractors Ltd.); one from pharmaceuticals (Glenmark Pharmaceuticals), and one from cosmetics (Godrej). The estimate total investment of India in Argentina is around US$930 million. In addition, Hero Motorcorp is planning to open a plant to assemble motorbikes in Argentina.
Q: What form of items Argentina exports to India and what is the volume of trade between the two countries?
A; Last year (2014), Argentina-India trade turnover was around US$ 2.4 billion dollars. Total Argentine imports from India reached US$ 663 million dollars, while total Argentine exports to India were around US$ 1.8 billion dollars.
The main items of Argentine exports to India are soybean oil, sunflower oil, leather, wool, copper and ferroalloys, among others. The main items of Argentina´s imports from India are organic chemicals, vehicles and auto parts, lubricants, machinery, sound and image devices and garments, among others.
Q: How do you view the visa Regime being operated by (the) two countries? Is it beneficial mutually?
A: Argentines and Indians both need visas to travel to each other’s country, in all categories: tourist, business, work, etc. What matters the most is that the visa regime, which comprises a clear set of rules and requirements, is implemented in an efficient and organized manner.
All the necessary information to apply can be found on the Embassy’s website and the Consular Section is always open to answer consults or doubts regarding the steps of the proceeding.
– Moreover, it is worth noticing that India and Argentina have taken important steps, introducing some flexibility in the visa regime in order to promote tourism and business:
– already in 1968 both countries agreed that tourist and transit visas would be free of charge
– and in 2009 an agreement was concluded allowing prominent businessmen with substantial dealings in the other country to obtain a 5-year business visas.
– In conclusion, both countries have clear rules, applied with efficiency and transparency, and that makes a visa request a LEGAL, not a TRAUMATIC process.
Finally, both countries are working to simplify the process (I cannot give you thorough details because changes are not confirmed yet), but it is evident that authorities have an interest in introducing more flexibility in some steps of the process (Argentina may waive interviews for businessmen; India has announced e-visa to be implemented soon).
Q: What is the state of tourism between the countries? What steps are being taken to enhance people to people contact?
A: According to our records, around 1,600 visas (from which around 800 are tourism visas) are issued every year from our Embassy in Delhi, and from our Consulate General in Mumbai around 1,220 visas are issued (from which around 500 are tourism visas). So we estimate that approximately 2,000 tourists from India visit Argentina every year. And the estimate number of Argentine visitors to India is around 10,000 per year.
The Argentine tourism promotion agency has been working in the last few years with a local marketing company in India to promote Argentina as a tourism destination, through for example the participation in fairs and road shows. In addition, in October last year, in the framework of a trade mission, this Embassy hosted an event to promote investments in Argentina, in projects related to tourism and hospitality. Last but not least: Argentina and India are currently negotiating an agreement on tourism cooperation.
Q: Given Argentina’s expertise in Agricultural and livestock how does PM Modi’s flagship programme Make in India and Swach Bharat evoke interest in Argentina ?
A: Currently, production is organized in global value chains in which entrepreneurs and companies seek to obtain benefit by taking advantage of the difference of costs, technology and logistics between countries and regions.
However, from a government’s perspective, and above all in the case of developing countries such as Argentina and India, the integration to a global value chain has to be compatible with the legitimate aspiration of addressing poverty and promoting sustainable development.
“Make in India” and “Swach Bharat” are, to some extent, PM Modi’s answer to this challenge. And in Argentina we also have the national imperative for growth with social inclusion. These common interests and aspirations should be fundamental to keep building a mutually beneficial relationship between our two countries.
In this sense, it is true that in the areas of agriculture, livestock and food processing there is a big potential. Both countries are major producers of food and have a quite diversified industrial base. But in order to participate in a global value chain beyond the commodity level, we need to join strengths and work together.
While India could benefit from Argentine know-how to realize in these sectors its full potential in terms of yield, processing and exports, Argentine companies should also look at India as an opportunity to enlarge their scale, diversify and add value to their export basket and gain competitiveness through alliances with Indian partners.