India-Latin America & Caribbean Alliance: A new era fostered by young diplomats
India is currently reorienting its diplomatic and economic focus towards the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)
region, previously unexplored by the South Asian giant. This shift is led by a new generation of Indian diplomats,
entrepreneurs, and academicians whose interest in the LAC region is not fleeting but a part of a meticulously
planned diplomatic endeavour.
This strategic realignment represents a broader blueprint envisioned by the Indian government, led by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Speaking to Financial Express Online
anonymously, a diplomat mentioned, “Sending first-time, especially younger ambassadors, signals a fresh start.
Their new energy, perspectives, and out-of-the-box thinking are crucial for navigating the diverse LAC region.”
This shift is markedly seen in the deployment of a young, dynamic group of diplomats to the LAC region, with many
taking on ambassadorial roles for the first time. Noteworthy is the appointment of Dr Sumit Seth, a 2005 batch
Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer with a background in forensic medicine, now serving as the Ambassador of India
to the Republic of Panama. This transition from medicine to diplomacy exemplifies a new influx of diverse
expertise into the IFS.
Joining this fresh diplomatic cadre are individuals like Mayank Joshi, another 2003 batch IFS officer appointed as
the next High Commissioner of India to Jamaica, and Dr Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit, a 2004 batch IFS officer now
serving as the new High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. These appointments reflect
the expanding scope of India’s diplomatic outreach.
The outreach further extends with Dr Amit S. Telang, a 2005 batch IFS officer appointed as the High Commissioner
of India to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and PK Ashok Babu, a 2007 batch IFS officer, has been appointed
as the next Ambassador of India to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. These diplomats’ varied backgrounds and
fresh perspectives symbolize India’s reinvigorated engagement strategy towards the LAC region.
This period also witnesses growing engagement between startups across Bangalore to Delhi and countries like
Chile, driven by appealing government incentives and a growing consumer market in the LAC region.
India’s intensified focus on the LAC region, housing over 660 million people with a combined GDP surpassing US$6
trillion, is a calculated endeavour to tap into a market ripe with opportunities in consumer goods, healthcare,
education, and more. This narrative extends beyond economics, marking a new chapter of cultural and intellectual
exchanges as Indian minds make their mark in universities from Santiago to Santo Domingo.
VARIOUS REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE LAC REGION:
UNASUR
Union of South American Nations
South American organization created in 2008 to propel regional integration on issues including democracy,
education, energy, environment, infrastructure, and security and to eliminate social inequality and exclusion. It
was inspired by and modeled after the European Union. UNASUR’s members are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Panama and Mexico hold
observer status.
Andean Community
South American organization founded to encourage industrial, agricultural, social, and trade cooperation. Formed
in 1969 by the Cartagena Agreement, the group originally consisted of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile;
Venezuela joined in 1973 but withdrew in 2006, and Chile withdrew in 1977. Peru suspended its membership in
1992 but resumed it in 1997. CAN’s headquarters are in Lima, Peru.
CAN’s Andean Integration System consists of several institutions, all of which seek to facilitate integration.
Mercosur
South American regional economic organization. Mercosur grew out of earlier efforts to integrate the economies
of Latin America through the Latin American Free Trade Association (1960) and its successor, the Latin American
Integration Association (1980).
Mercosur was created in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was signed by the heads of state of Argentina,
Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Several other countries were later admitted as associate members, and in 2006 the
presidents of the four member countries approved full membership for Venezuela, though its final ascent was
blocked for years by the Paraguayan congress. Mercosur is headquartered in Montevideo, [Link]’s
goals include the harmonization of the economic policies of its members and the promotion of economic
development.
CELAC:
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is an organization that excludes the United States and
Canada and was widely seen as a potential alternative to the OAS when it was founded in 2010. Its achievements
have included securing a 2015 pledge from Chinese President Xi Jinping to invest $500 billion in the region. In
December 2021, the China-CELAC Forum released a two-year Joint Action Plan that aims to deepen multilateral
cooperation between Beijing and the bloc, as well as create eight new forums that focus on topics including space
and digital technology. At a second China-CELAC meeting the following July, the two groups agreed to deepen
cooperation on poverty reduction and infrastructure development in the region. However, CELAC’s membership
has shrunk in recent years; Brazil withdrew in 2020, arguing that the group is controlled by authoritarian regimes
in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Prosur:
The Forum for the Progress of South America was formed in March 2019 by UNASUR’s defecting countries—
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru—plus Guyana. Venezuela was the only South
American state not invited to join. Conveners envision it as a UNASUR substitute focused on socio economic
cooperation, though analysts have questioned the bloc’s usefulness and staying power.
ALBA:
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America was founded in 2004 by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
and Cuban President Fidel Castro. It comprises ten governments from the region (Ecuador withdrew in 2018) and
seeks economic and political integration based on leftist ideals. Experts say its influence has diminished amid
Venezuela’s economic and political disintegration.
The Quito Process is the definition given to a group of Latin American countries to respond to the Venezuelan
migration crisis, this multilateral instance was established after the so-called Quito Declaration, officially called
"Declaration of Quito on human mobility of Venezuelan citizens in the region", on 4 September 2018 in the
homonymous capital, where representatives of 13 countries met with the aim of exchanging information and
articulate regional coordination to the Venezuelan refugee crisis. On 23 November 2018, the Quito Plan was
signed, which included deepening the mechanisms of Venezuelan migration, international financial cooperation
and the articulation with international agencies. A third meeting was held on 8 and 9 April 2019.
Eleven American countries signed the Quito Declaration: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Bolivia and the Dominican Republic did not sign the document.
The Lima Group is a multilateral body that was established following the Lima Declaration on 8 August 2017 in the
Peruvian capital of Lima, where representatives of 12 countries met in order to establish a peaceful exit to the
ongoing crisis in Venezuela.
Among other issues, the group demands the release of political prisoners, the end of human rights violations, calls
for free elections, offers humanitarian aid and criticizes the breakdown of democratic order in Venezuela under
Nicolás Maduro.
Following the death of President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela faced a severe socio economic crisis during the
presidency of his successor Nicolás Maduro, as a result of their policies and US economic sanctions.
