In its active and multifaceted foreign policy, the Indian leadership always pays special attention to developing relations with the Global South, namely with African and South American states.
Ghana (July 2-3)
Narendra Modi visited this country for the first time. This was the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ghana in the last three decades. Ghana is one of the fastest growing economies in West Africa and is home to more than 15,000 Indians. President John Mahama visited New Delhi in 2015 as part of the India-Africa summit, and during talks with Modi the parties agreed to develop cooperation in various fields, primarily in trade. Since then, India has become the largest market for Ghanaian exports, with more than 70% of Indian imports from this country being comprised of gold and other precious metals important for India’s jewellery industry. It should be noted that Ghana has become India’s second-largest partner in West Africa after Nigeria in terms of trade turnover, which now amounts to about $3.3 billion, a high indicator. India ranked third among Ghana’s partners in turnover, after China and Switzerland. During negotiations, the parties agreed to double the bilateral trade turnover over the course of the next 5 years.
Modi was awarded the highest state award, the Order of the Star of Ghana, during his visit. Following the visit, a number of bilateral documents were signed, including in the fields of education, cultural exchange, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and energy. It was agreed to establish a joint intergovernmental commission on various areas of bilateral cooperation.
India will continue its projects in Ghana (there are already more than 700 of them), and Indian companies will participate in the exploration and production of critical minerals and increase their investments in the country’s economy (currently investments amount to more than $2 billion).
Defence cooperation will also continue, including training the country’s armed forces, improving maritime security and supplying military equipment. Measures have also been outlined to jointly combat terrorism.
In short, the impressive package of agreements reached following the visit indicates the serious intentions of the parties to strengthen significantly their bilateral partnership in various spheres.
Trinidad and Tobago (July 3-4)
Modi timed his first visit to this Caribbean island nation to coincide with the 180th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian immigrants, who now make up more than 40% of the population (the total population is 1.5 million). The influential Indian diaspora plays a major political role in the country, and even the head of state, President Christine Kangaloo and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, are of Indian descent. Narendra Modi was awarded the highest state award, the Order of the Republic, and the country’s leadership noted India’s special contribution to the socio-economic and cultural development of the state. The current bilateral trade turnover ($400 million) was deemed unsatisfactory, and the Indian Prime Minister promised to increase trade and investment significantly and provide additional assistance to the country in various fields. Following the visit, six documents were signed providing for the development of ties in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture, healthcare, education, culture and sports. Speaking in parliament and in front of the diaspora, Modi emphasised India’s growing role in global affairs as the world’s fastest-growing economy and a country aspiring to get a permanent seat in the expanded UN Security Council. The leaders of Trinidad and Tobago supported such an application by New Delhi.
Argentina (July 4-5)
The first bilateral visit of а head of the Indian government to the country in the last 57 years was marked by a warm greeting with representatives of the small Indian diaspora (about 3,000 people), during which Modi focused on the growing role of New Delhi as a dynamically developing global power. By the way, it is Modi’s second time visiting Buenos Aires; in 2018 he participated in the G20 summit there.
Negotiations with Argentine President Javier Milei were focused on strengthening partnerships in the mining industry and, above all, the extraction of rare earth minerals, particularly lithium, as well as in the fields of trade, oil and gas, energy, agriculture and defence with an eye to new purchases of Indian weapons.
India is one of Argentina’s five main trading partners. 2023 was a record year when the bilateral trade turnover exceeded $6 billion. In recent years, the trade volume has begun to fall due to Argentina’s economic difficulties and currently stands at about $4 billion, which worries the parties and is at the centre of the work of the joint intergovernmental commission. India is particularly interested in purchasing soybean and sunflower oil, as well as lithium, copper and other rare earth minerals that are essential for the Indian energy sector. During the negotiations, the parties expressed interest in establishing trade cooperation between India and the countries of the economic and political MERCOSUR association (in addition to Argentina it includes Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).
To be continued…
Anvar Azimov, diplomat and political scientist, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Eurasian Educational Institute of MGIMO of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
