At the Latin America Roundtable under the Diplomat Diaries series hosted by the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, H.E. Juan Angulo, Ambassador of Chile to India, offered a nuanced and forward-looking perspective on the evolving engagement between India and Latin America. Speaking at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, Ambassador Angulo emphasised both the diversity of the Latin American region and the growing strategic resonance between Chile and India as partners in a shifting global landscape.
Understanding Latin America Beyond the Stereotype
Ambassador Angulo began by highlighting a fundamental point often overlooked in external assessments of the region. “Latin America and the Caribbean is not a homogeneous region,” he remarked. “We share cultural and historical roots, particularly our Iberian heritage, but each of our countries has its own economic structure, political trajectory, strategic priorities, and domestic realities. Any engagement with the region must recognise this diversity. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to Latin America.”
This clarity of context framed the broader conversation on how regional cooperation is shaped through groupings such as CELAC, the Pacific Alliance, MERCOSUR, CARICOM, and SICA. Together, these institutions reflect a region interconnected yet distinct, united in the pursuit of development, stability, and global collaboration.
India and Latin America: A Renewed Diplomatic Momentum
The Ambassador highlighted what he described as a “renewed diplomatic energy” in India’s engagement with Latin America. Between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s visit in 1968 and Prime Minister Modi’s visit for the BRICS Summit in Brazil decades later, high-level exchanges remained limited. “This has changed significantly,” he noted.
Recent visits by India’s External Affairs Minister, the opening of new embassies, including in Ecuador, and reciprocal diplomatic presence from Latin American states in New Delhi underscore what Angulo described as “a deepening political will to expand cooperation.” He pointed out that trade currently stands at around USD 35 billion, but the “potential is substantially greater and remains underexplored,” especially in areas such as renewable energy, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, digital services, and climate-linked research.
Chile’s Model: Stability, Openness, and Long-Term Vision
Turning to Chile, Ambassador Angulo highlighted the country’s consistent economic and political approach. “Chile has followed a long-term, consensus-based development strategy, across governments of varying orientations, maintaining macroeconomic stability and global openness,” he emphasised. An independent central bank, counter-cyclical fiscal policies, and a diversified export portfolio have anchored Chile’s position in the global economy.
Today, Chile’s 33 trade agreements grant preferential access to nearly 90 percent of global GDP—an achievement driven by continuity and strategic foresight.
Chile and India: A Growing and Balanced Partnership
Reflecting on bilateral relations, Ambassador Angulo recalled that Chile and India established diplomatic ties as early as 1949, followed by one of India’s first commercial agreements with Latin America in 1956. Recent momentum includes the expansion of the 2006 Preferential Trade Agreement. “The ongoing negotiations are progressing constructively, and we are confident that the expansion will open new opportunities for trade and investment in both directions,” he stated.
He identified promising fields of collaboration, including copper and lithium supply chains, green hydrogen, agri-value trade, digital innovation, cinematic exchange, Antarctic research, and academic partnerships. Aligning Chile’s world-class renewable energy capacity and India’s technological depth, he noted, offers “a unique space of complementarity that can define the next phase of cooperation.”
Chile also supports India’s call for reform of the United Nations Security Council. This, Ambassador Angulo explained, reflects a shared belief in a more representative, balanced, and inclusive international system.
Shared Values, Shared Future
Closing his remarks, Ambassador Angulo spoke to the philosophical foundation of the bilateral relationship. “Chile may be geographically distant from India, but we are not distant in values or in purpose. We are both democracies committed to sustainable development, open markets, multilateral cooperation, and an international order founded on fairness and inclusion.”
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