India's engagement with Latin America "too little, too late": JK Tripathi

While India's trade in Latin America has gone up from $25 billion between 2016-2017 to $29 billion between 2017-2018, China is witnessing a meteoric rise in China's trade partnership with the countries in the continent.

New Delhi: In the game of global diplomacy, India has stepped up its engagement with South American countries in recent times. Despite progress, a long road lies ahead of India as it's still not among the biggest trade partners in the region.

Speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat about the reasons of India's slow engagement with Latin American countries, a region which plays an important role in resolving its long-standing energy crisis, former Ambassador JK Tripathi termed the country's engagement with Latin America as " too little, too late."

Blaming lack of vision on Indian government's part, the former Ambassador who had served in Paraguay and Venezuela said, "it's a very late start. The enormous potential that Latin America offers hasn't been tapped by our businessmen and government."

The former diplomat even accused past administrations of losing several opportunities for engagement. He said, "in 1952, Government of Brazil asked Government of India to send some farmers for farming to Brazil. Back then, India refused. But in the last decade, around 2009, India asked Brazil whether it can send any farmers to Brazil for business or farming."

India's trade in Latin America has gone up from $25 billion in 2016-2017 to $29 billion 2017-2018.