Paraguayan President Santiago Peña begins 3-day India visit, meets PM Modi
New Delhi: India and members of the Global South can learn from each other's experiences in tackling challenges such as terrorism and organised crime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he held talks with visiting Paraguayan President Santiago Peña on bolstering cooperation in areas ranging from trade to digital technology and defence.
The Pahalgam terror attack of April 22, which prompted India to target terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan, figured in talks between the two leaders. Modi said India and Paraguay 'stand united' in the fight against terror and Peña expressed solidarity with the victims of the terror attack. Both leaders unequivocally condemned all forms of terrorism and violent extremism, officials said.
Peña began a three-day visit to India on Monday, the first by a Paraguayan president since 2012. Besides holding talks with the Indian leadership, he is also set to meet top business leaders in New Delhi and Mumbai to urge them to invest in diverse sectors in Paraguay.
'India and Paraguay stand united in the fight against terrorism. There is immense possibility of cooperation to fight against shared challenges such as cybercrime, organised crime and drug trafficking,' Modi said in his opening remarks at the meeting with Peña, speaking in Hindi.
Modi noted that India and Paraguay are integral parts of the Global South with similar aspirations and challenges and said: 'This is why we can learn from each other's experiences to deal with these challenges effectively.'
Modi also expressed his deep appreciation for Paraguay's strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack and expressing solidarity with the people and government of India. 'Both leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations,' P Kumaran, secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing.
'We see new opportunities for cooperation in areas such as digital technology, critical minerals, energy, agriculture, healthcare, defence, railways, space and overall economic partnership,' Modi said. 'We have a preferential trade agreement with Mercosur. We can work together to further expand it.'
In addition to setting up a joint commission as a key platform to review and advance cooperation in priority areas, the two sides are working on two separate memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to enhance collaboration in agriculture and space technology. The two countries are working on a MoU for Paraguay to collaborate with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop and launch small and nano satellites, Kumaran said.
While Paraguay's priorities in the defence sector are different from those of India, Kumaran said there is scope for bilateral cooperation in the context of Paraguay's efforts to secure large network of inland waterways, including bolstering law enforcement to tackle trans-national crimes such as human and drug trafficking.
Peña also expressed keen interest in attracting Indian investments and enhancing bilateral cooperation in health, pharmaceuticals, defence, infrastructure, mining and renewable energy. Peña urged Indian firms to take advantage of Paraguay's position as one of the most open economies in the Mercosur region and promised to facilitate investments, officials said.
'Given their central location in South America, it would be possible for us to use Paraguay as a launching pad to try and access other markets in the region. Our companies would be looking at Paraguay as...a staging post and therefore, look at it in a way that is a force multiplier,' Kumaran said. 'We will be looking at expanding our presence in South America, using Paraguay as a staging post.'
India and Paraguay also wish to expand trade links under the India-Mercosur preferential trade agreement. The members of Mercosur, a trade bloc that currently includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, are holding technical talks with India on enhancing market access and boosting bilateral and inter-regional trade.
There is serious interest in expanding the scope and reach of the India-Mercosur preferential trade agreement in terms of the range of products, though consensus has to be built up among the five members on the bloc on the terms of reference for further discussions, Kumaran said.
Two-way between India and Paraguay was worth $477 million during 2022-23, with Indian exports accounting for $317 million. India's main exports were motor vehicles, agro-chemicals, auto parts and pharmaceutical products, while the key imports from Paraguay were soya oil, iron and steel, aluminium and animal products.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
3 minutes ago
- Mint
PM Modi to flag off first train to Kashmir on Friday: Here's why it is India's historic rail milestone
The stage is all set for the first-ever train to Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will finally inaugurate the first Vande Bharat Express train to Kashmir on 6 June from Jammu after the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project. This will be Prime Minister Modi's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after 'Operation Sindoor' – India's precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan launched on 7 May in response to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Modi will flag off the train services from the Shri at Vaishno Devi (SMVD) railway station in Katra, Jammu to Baramulla in north Kashmir. Modi will also flag off another train from Baramulla to Katra on the occasion. Trains have been running between Banihal and Baramulla in the Kashmir valley, and between Jammu, Udhampur and Katra in Jammu region. But the 111-km Katra-Banihal section was the most difficult to construct owing to the challenging terrain. Modi will also inaugurate the highest railway arch bridge over river Chenab and India's first cable-stayed Anji Khad bridge on the occasion. He is also expected to address a rally on the occasion. Earlier, the inauguration of the much-awaited train was scheduled for 19 April, however, it was postponed dur to bad weather. Three days later Pahalgam terror attack happened in Kashmir. The development will end over 70 years of wait for a direct train service to Kashmir linking the valley to rest of India first time throough a rail link. At present, trains are operational just between Sangaldan and Baramulla in the Valley and from Katra to across the country. The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link (USBRL) Project was initially sanctioned in 1995 during the time of Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, at an estimated cost of ₹ 2,500 crore. While the ambitious project to connect Kashmir by train began in 1997, it was commissioned in bits and parts and faced multiple delays due to geographical challenges posed by the terrain. However, it gained momentum after then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee designated it as a national initiative in 2002. In 2009, Qazigund - Baramulla section in Kashmir was rendered operational, following which in 2013, the 18-km Banihal - Qazigund section, and in 2014 - the 24-km Udhampur - Katra section was started. In 2023, the section between Banihal and Sangaldan was started and now the connectivity between Sangaldan and Katra, which is believed to be the most difficult of all sections has been completed. The Banihal-Katra section contains 97 km of tunnels and 7 km of bridges. In December 2024, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Railways, said that the final track construction of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link was finished. "Historic milestone; final track work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link is complete. The ballastless track work for the 3.2 km-long Tunnel T-33, located at the foothills of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and connecting Katra to Reasi, was successfully completed today at 02:00 hrs," he wrote on X The famous Chenab Bridge, the world's tallest railway bridge standing 359 meters above mean sea level, is also part of the track and will enhance the picturesque route connecting Jammu and Srinagar. At an estimated cost of over ₹ 43,000 crore, the USBR Lproject involved laying out ballast less tracks over bridges and tunnels, spanning deep gorges, with 90 per cent of the route traversed over 943 bridges, and 36 main tunnels, including India's longest railway tunnel, T-50 stretching more than 12.7 km. On the Katra - Banihal section, the train will also traverse another engineering marvel, the Anji Khad bridge, which is India's first cable-stayed bridge. Supported by 96 cables, the 725-meter-long bridge stands 331 meters above mean sea level. For now, only one Kashmir-specific Vande Bharat train will ply on the Katra and Srinagar route to Baramulla. More trains will start plying on the route based on the public response, officials said. Earlier a direct train from Delhi to Srinagar was expected. But due to security and weather reasons, the passengers would have to get down at the Katra railway station and board another train to continue the journey forward to Kashmir. In February, Vaishnaw said that passengers who want to travel from Delhi to Srinagar can book one ticket and change the train at Katra railway. All passengers boarding the train to Srinagar from Delhi or vice versa or from any other part of the country would have to undergo thorough frisking. Besides, their luggage would be screened at the time of boarding. The luggage would then undergo fresh scanning at departure lounges once the passengers get down at the Katra station. Before they board another train, they would again be subjected to frisking by the security personnel. The trains will ply on the Kashmir route only during the daytime. No trains would ply during evening hours in the Valley. The Kashmir version of Vande Bharat is equipped with climate-specific adaptations to provide advance heating systems in sub-zero temperatures, driver's front lookout glass embedded with heating elements for defrosting, and to ensure clear visibility during harsh winters. The region's connectivity with the rest of the country would be improved with the completion of the USBRL Project and the launch of direct Vande Bharat trains between Kashmir and Delhi via Jammu. In addition to addressing logistical issues, this will boost economic expansion and encourage travel. -The total cost of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link project is about ₹ 43,000 crore. -The seamless all-weather connectivity links Kashmir Valley to the rest of India for the first time through a rail link. -The connectivity will boost the local economy and trade by offering easier transport if local goods like apples, saffron and handicrafts to major Indian markets. Until now, these products had to be transported through Jammu and Kashmir Highway which gets affected by harsh weather during winters. -The rail link will also improve access to popular destinations like Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Tourism in Kashmir Valley was severly affeceted after Pahalgam terror attack. Historic milestone; final track work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link is complete. -Officials said that the project will also create employment opportunities in railway, tourism, and logistics sectors. -Above all, it simplifies travel to major cities for medical care and universities.
Economic Times
6 minutes ago
- Economic Times
How is India benefiting from supply chain diversification away from China? Morgan Stanley's Chetan Ahya explains
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads , Chief Asia Economist,says India is gaining advantage due to tariff differences with China. American companies are considering increased imports from India. Government policies are boosting manufacturing and exports. Electronics manufacturing is expanding beyond mobile phones. Infrastructure development will further strengthen India's manufacturing exports. Optimism in Indian equity markets aligns with positive economic fundamentals. The organization maintains a bullish outlook on think that the government capex has been the key anchor of the capex cycle and to the extent to which India has been embarking on this focus on manufacturing capex, the government's focus on infrastructure would be an important anchor to that private capex eventually improving as now, it is still the government capex and we had seen a bump down or a small slowdown period for government capex post general elections last year. But we have seen that in the last three-four months, there has been a meaningful pick up in government capex. In March, we saw that both central and state government capex growing at a very high pace and that has now taken the 12-month trailing centre plus state combined capital expenditure to close to the peaks that we had seen right before the general have seen this strength in government capex coming back again. As far as private capex is concerned, we were expecting that would have picked up a lot more by this time, but to the extent to which we have seen this trade tensions emerge from early this year that is going to affect the capex outlook not only in the region, but also in India, despite the fact that India has lower exposure to global goods reality is that it still has a meaningful exposure of 12% of GDP being its goods exports to GDP. We are expecting private capex to be going through a bit of an adjustment period in the environment of global trade tensions and then, over the next calendar year, that is, in 2026, we should see a pick up in private capex because by that time, the damage out of this global trade tensions would have been behind is benefiting on account of it. Right now, during a period where tariffs on China, even after having come down, are still at a very high run rate of 30% and from the 2018 period, you also have about 11% weighted average tariff on imports from China that the US has imposed. Cumulatively, we still have a 41% tariff rate for import from China for the US and that does give some sectors an advantage over China in terms of pricing and even sort of thinking about a bit more from a medium-term corporate sector in America is beginning to think about importing more from India. India is probably benefiting on account of that. Then, from a medium-term perspective, we have always argued that look, it is not just about taking away market share from China, but just getting rightful market share for India in the global goods exports and for that India's policies that were important and the government has been taking the right policies to boost that manufacturing sector have seen electronics manufacturing getting a leg up. We are going to see that expand into more and more products within the electronic segment apart from mobile phones and laptops. And at the same time, we think that from a medium-term perspective, this whole push towards infrastructure will really strengthen India's manufacturing exports. It is really a lot of the domestic policies that will be important from the long term apart from the short-term benefit that it may get on account of differential tariff rates between India and our regional and India strategists have been very constructive on India. So, we are aligned up as a house on being bullish on India.
Economic Times
6 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Tariff jitters temporary, long-term upside intact for India Inc.: Deepak Shenoy
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads "Overall fund flows seem to be more concentrated towards domestic. There is also a lot more action in terms of results and some of these tariff news and all that stuff which is kind of still creating a lot of uncertainty," says Deepak Shenoy , Founder, Capital Mind We saw about 25,000 crores enter the markets as fresh entries into mutual funds in April and given that May was like a 9% plus month for smallcaps and smallcap funds have been the second largest recipient of funds in April, that will kind of bolster more retail investment into domestic funds even that, overall fund flows seem to be more concentrated towards domestic. There is also a lot more action in terms of results and some of these tariff news and all that stuff which is kind of still creating a lot of have come to the realisation that there is a little bit of back and forth and anybody says something about tariffs that is likely to be changed very quickly in whichever direction and mostly in the direction of removing those tariffs in a short period of I feel that in the end we will come down to 10% tariffs by the US to everybody and by and large some countries may receive a little more but I do not think this is going to be a major impact longer we realise this, it is less of an impact overall. The themes that seem to still be working is manufacturing, is financialization , and is maybe defence as themes that hurt perhaps are commodities because a large amount is based on world-wide demand as well, so that theme seems to be constant. I do not think today is any special day in that sense, but we have to be cognisant that as these tariffs come off and as eventually the wars in the world come to some kind of conclusion, the upside for India is definitely strong and I am biased, I am a fund manager, so we have to be positive but some of the positives are going to get more visible in the next six I will be honest. We run a company in this industry and therefore very-very heavily biased. But I still think this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of how much this industry can scale. I would not talk about who the winners will be and who the losers will be, but India is terribly under-financialized. Less than 18% of our GDP is in mutual funds whereas in America that number is more than 100%. So, to a certain extent there is a lot of room for the Indian organised financial industry to move. We are moving away from the real estate, gold, and chit funds kind of products to save into real financial products or financial products of a more regulated sort which has a lot more potential. You are seeing this happening. 25,000 crores a month net new inflows, most of that coming through SIPs This has not slowed down meaningfully even through the fact that the markets have corrected. We have seen more regulatory action that has fortified, so whether it is an RTA, whether it is an AMC, whether it is an exchange, or whether it is a depository all of them are getting more and more prominent in the overall structural framework of now it is becoming more and more easy to transact in them, to deal with them if a person dies transferring a financial product is way easier than trying to transfer say real estate or anything like a lot of these things add up over time and fortify people's minds into saying okay we will do this. You cannot sell half a house, but you could sell half a mutual therefore, people are actually getting more and more into financial products as such and the financial products themselves are investing in different things. You can buy gold through a mutual fund. You can buy stocks through a mutual fund. You can buy bonds and so on. So that way the industry itself has kind of scaled we are also seeing wealth management players, people who manage the money of relatively richer people even those stocks are kind of increasing in value and they are increasing in terms of growth as well, in terms of real profits. So, from that perspective we are yes, maybe we are overpaying for these stocks today, but a structural approach to buy them over a period of time is perhaps necessary for any growth oriented portfolio.
