paraguay
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu meets Hugo Velazquez,
Vice President of Paraguay in Asuncion (March 06, 2019)
PARAGUAY, INDIA
PROMOTING BILATERAL RELATIONS
BY DR. STUTI BANERJEE*
O
ver the past few years, India has been deepening
its engagement with the countries of Latin America
and the Caribbean region. The government under
the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried
to bring ‘focus on Latin America’ through more and more
engagements, including high-level visits. In July 2014, Prime
Minister Modi visited Brazil to attend the annual BRICS
summit and met several Latin American heads of States on
the sidelines of the summit. Taking the momentum forward,
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, recently visited Paraguay
and Costa Rica.
Naidu became the first ever Vice President to visit
Paraguay and in a way his visit highlights the need for India
16 • PARAGUAY 2019
to engage with other nations of the region. In close to sixty
years of diplomatic relations, India and Paraguay have shared
cordial relations, with few divergences.
Trade is one of the main drivers of the bilateral relations
which has increased almost ten-fold over the last ten years
and reached $334 million in 2017-18 from $40 million in
2008-09. Soyabean oil accounts for over 90 percent of
Paraguay’s exports to India. Main export items from India to
Paraguay include iron and steel, plastics, chemicals, vehicles
and auto parts. 1 As India tries to increase its global and
economic footprint in the region, Paraguay provides it with a
gateway to engage with other nations of the region. LAC is
also known for regional integration. Paraguay is a member of