At the opening ceremony of the India-SICA (Central American Integration System) Foreign Ministers Meeting on Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said that the participating developing countries shared “common perspectives and challenges” and were “confronted with common global challenges.”
India-SICA Meeting
Jaishankar said that the international community is “suffering” from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine War, and also has to deal with “pre-existing conditions,” such as climate change, poverty reduction, and food and energy security.
He added that 2023 is “a year of exceptional responsibility,” as India takes presidency of the G20 “at a time when East-West polarisation is very strong and North-South divides are getting deeper.”
The EAM said that energy and food security are the Global South’s “two most immediate global challenges,” in addition to long-term priorities such as development, growth, trade, investment, employment, and poverty deduction. To this end, he pledged that “India will be doing more.”
Appreciated the role of Secretary General of SICA, Werner Vargas at the India-SICA FMM.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 25, 2023
His efforts in supporting the fourth India-SICA FMM were commendable. Agreed to take this forward through a concrete Plan of Action@sg_sica pic.twitter.com/gSJ6Xrvshz
Latin America Business Forum
At the Latin America Business Forum in Panama City on Monday, Jaishankar listed 10 “important reasons” why Indo-Panama economic business collaboration is “important” and has “very good prospects,” including:
- India is the fifth largest economy, with very strong growth prospects for many decades.
- India has seen almost a $100 billion growth in exports of manufactured goods, compared with pre-COVID levels.
- It will facilitate enormous progress of digital delivery, in terms of public goods and the tools of businesses.
- It will offer broader support to the creation of vendor chains in India, for MSMEs, and encouraging businesses to be competitive.
- A larger set of talent and skills in human resources will be cultivated due to initiatives such as Skill India, Startup India, Digital India, and the new education policies.