Mr. Jaime Nualart, the Ambassador of Mexico in his capacity as Chair of the Group of LAC led the delegation. Addressing the delegation, Gujarat Chief Minister said that Latin America has always been a valued trade partner of India and a prominent investment region for Indian investors. Talking about Gujarat, we have a number of common interests like Hydro Carbon resources of your regions, agriculture, food processing as well as dairy, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, auto parts, diamonds, textiles and garments. Infrastructure sector and tourism promotion are other areas where Gujarat can offer a lot to LAC countries, he noted.
Gujarat has recently acquired huge strength in iron and steel industries whereas plastics have been its traditional industry, Shri Modi said adding that tobacco is another area of Gujarat where we can add value and increase business. The Gujarat Chief Minister recalled the social patterns that both regions share with Latin America participating in last two Vibrant Gujarat summits and Navratri celebrtaions. We have been sending our delegations to invite the companies in LAC region to the mega-business event and to explore business opportunities. Many Gujarat-based companies are already doing good trade with LAC region, few of them also having physical presence in some of the countries, Shri Modi informed the gathering.
Addressing the meeting which lasted for over two hours, Shri Modi said that like India, all Latin American countries are working to enable our respective people to enjoy quality life. There is tremendous scope to learn from each other especially in delivering various services with use of technology and people’s empowerment. In this field, we are natural partners, he added.
Narrating the achievements of Gujarat in different sectors like healthcare, education, drinking water, sanitation, skill development, agriculture, agro-processing, water management, etc., where Gujarat has done truly remarkable work and people have benefitted tremendously, the Gujarat Chief Minister informed the diplomats that we would like to share these ideas, innovations, technology, processes, etc. for mutual benefit of both the regions.
Exploring the issue of tourism opportunities between Gujarat and LAC countries, he said that there is huge scope for Latin American investment in beach tourism and cruise tourism in Gujarat with its 1600 km coastline offering tremendous business opportunities.
Besides Mr. Jaime Nualart, Ambassador of Mexico, Ambassadors who attended meeting include Mr. Julio De La Guardia (Panama), Mr. Javier Paulinich (Republic of Peru), Ms. Aashna Kanhai (Republic of Suriname), Mr. Carlos Duarte (Brazil), Mr. Cristian Barros (Republic of Chile), Mr. Juan Alfredo Pinto Saavedra (Colombia), Mr. Cesar Ferrer (Uruguay), Ms. Milena Santana Ramirez (Venezuela), Mr. Genaro V. Pappalardo (Paraguay), Mr. Frank Hans Dannerberg Castellanos (Dominican Republic), Mr. Jorge Cardenas (Bolivia) and Mr. Juan F. Cordero (Costa Rica) The diplomats from the country of Argentina, Republic of Ecuador, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, El Salvador and Guatemala also participated in the meeting.
Shri G.C. Murmu, Principal Secretary to CM and Shri Bharat Lal, Resident Commissioner participated in the meeting.
