India must seize the opportunities in Latin America
Hindustan TimesPrime Minister Narendra Modi was in Rio de Janeiro earlier this week for the G20 Summit hosted by Brazil, the current president of this group. As the global workplace becomes more integrated, there is an opportunity for India to leverage its strengths to provide digital services for the region Taken together, these engagements are a sign of India’s deepening commitment to improve and strengthen strategic and economic ties with the region where it is still playing catch up to China. India’s proposals during its G20 presidency, especially Mission LiFE, green climate pact and digital public infrastructure, were consolidated through Brazil’s initiatives to form a global alliance against hunger and poverty, promote the use of biofuels for the energy transition and focus on inclusive digitalisation. First, India’s relationship with two of the largest economies of Latin America — Brazil and Mexico — needs to be enhanced significantly. Second, the smaller Latin American countries could be important for India as a source of minerals needed to support energy transition, especially for electric vehicles and grid-scale battery storage.