By Kuldeep Ojha
The Chilean Foreign Minister His Excellency Mr. Alberto Van Klaveren’s visit to India during the last week of August 2024 marked a significant touchpoint in the Indo-Chile bilateral ties. As the first such visit in the past decade, it facilitated progress on trade, investment, environment and technological cooperation between the two Global South actors. On India’s part, the renewed momentum in ties with the Latin American state demonstrates its diplomatic commitment to engaging with the Global South on win-win terms. In an uncertain geopolitical environment, both India and Chile are prudently diversifying into new set of diplomatic ties beyond their traditional concerns to hedge their bets and achieve their foreign policy goals through new avenues.
The foreign minister’s visit also included a sojourn to India’s premier international relations institution, the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). A key element of his address included the promotion of education and knowledge exchange between the two countries. Welcomed by Professor Amitabh Mattoo, the Dean of the School of International Studies, the Minister addressed Chile’s role in world geopolitics and the potential for bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, diplomacy, education and business. In this article, based on the Minister’s remarks at JNU, this
article analyzes the current state of India-Chile bilateral relationship and future avenue for cooperation.
Economic Cooperation: Expanding Trade and Investment Ties
India and Chile are strengthening trade cooperation, particularly in the areas of agriculture, pharmaceuticals and staple foods. The Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), signed between the two countries in 2006, has played a significant role in reducing customs duties on over 1,000 products. The trade composition majorly consists of India’s imports of Chilean fruits and wines and its export of agricultural products and medicines.
The key focus of the Chilean foreign minister’s visit included the discussion on the introduction of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries. During the bilateral talks with the Commerce Minister of India, Mr. Piyush Goyal, both parties stressed the need for the development of economic cooperation through the framework of market access and cooperation in a new and promising field for Chile and India, namely, critical minerals.
The Chile-India Business (Agriculture) Summit in Mumbai also proved its ability to bring back the agricultural trade between the two countries. Efforts have also been made to address the longstanding concerns regarding sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, a move deemed crucial to spur fresh supplies of commodities including basmati rice, rose and kidney beans among others. Chile on its part wants to secure the portion of the Indian market share of wines and nuts.
Critical Minerals: Promoting Green Energy Collaboration
Out of all the sectors for collaboration that was under discussion during the visit, one of the most crucial one included critical mineral. As the global leader in the lithium ore segment and the second largest producer of copper, Chile holds an important position in the global supply chain of renewable energy sources. India’s growing appetite for electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy has created an immediate need for these minerals, most importantly lithium which is used for battery production.
Moreover, China’s remarkable domination of the EV market and critical mineral supply chain provide an additional incentive on part of India to collaborate with Chile. The obvious rationale, when it comes to the strategic thinking of cutting the risks of economic over-dependence, could not be clearer in New Delhi’s equations. On the Chilean side, such political importance of economic interdependence and the need to diversify its markets could be the reasons that explain the keen interest to court a rising India. The Chilean Foreign Minister’s invitation to Indian firms to invest in lithium mining in Chile is a geopolitical chance for India to secure the supply of the mineral crucial to green transition. The gaining of technical know-how and a foothold in the lithium supply chain are to be counted as the long-term benefits for the Indian business sector. The collaboration further has the potential to result in technological exchange and joint partnerships around sustainable mining operations for economic and environmental benefits.
Aligning Interests and Values in the Strategic Partnership
India and Chile share a common ground in their commitment to democracy, human rights, and sustainable development. These shared values have the potential to serve as the bedrock of the growing bilateral relation. Both India and Chile support the use of diplomacy and peaceful means to resolve global problems and are committed to the rules-based international order. India’s EAM S Jaishankar has already expressed his appreciation for Chile’s support to India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The Chilean minister’s speech at JNU touched upon the synergy between the two nations on international order, especially the agenda of reforming multilateral institutions. Consequently, in future, Indian diplomacy may do well to coordinate its position with Chile in international forums on matters of global importance.
The strategic dimension of the bilateral relationship has also attracted quite a lot of diplomatic interest because the conversation has been colored by the possibility of cooperation in the spheres of defense, technology and space. Leading private Indian defence sector actors, including BrahMos, Azista Industries and Goa Shipyard Limited, are involved in discussions with the Chilean Armed Forces to gain access to the lucrative market. MKU Limited has recently exhibited its latest products at FIDAE (International Air and Space Fair) 2024, in turn consolidating the Indian footprint in Chile’s defence acquisitions market. The vast potential for the defence export on part of India remains untapped and the future performance of Indian firms deserve a close watch.
As for the potential for deepening bilateral cooperation, another set of concerned activities include the current negotiations over the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). While the full details are not available, the likely affected areas include cybersecurity, green energy, climate action, poverty reduction. The Chilean minister also paid much attention to regional integration in Latin America and Asia, where India and Chile can potentially take the leading part to address climate change, economic inequality, and global health issues. India’s prowess in generic medicines, expertise in the HADR missions, and promotion of the solar alliance can readily serve as the diplomatic blueprint to provide public goods in these regions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the momentum in the bilateral relationship warrants an optimistic outlook of the future trajectory, despite a rapidly developing Sino-Latin American relations, and substantial geographical and linguistic barriers between India-Latin America. The Chilean foreign minister’s visit to New Delhi and JNU serve to highlight the Latin American nation’s commitment to improve the relation with India by investing in people to people ties and scholarly exchanges. The visit also demonstrates India’s rising profile and its adroit diplomatic conduct, as well as the continued importance of JNU as the leading hub of IR scholarship in India.
This Article is an Original Contribution to the SIS Blog and is based on an open event not subject to the Chatham House Rules.
Kuldeep Ojha is a PhD scholar in Latin American Studies at SIS, JNU. His research focuses
on environmental governance in Central America, and his interests extend to the Latin
American region and its geopolitics.