India and Argentina held on Wednesday a business meeting in New Delhi aimed at strengthening bilateral trade relations. Representatives from 47 Argentine companies traveled to New Delhi to attend meetings with their counterparts from 142 Indian firms.

Argentine secretary of International Economic Relations Carlos Bianco stressed the political coincidences between the two countries whose inclusion in the BRIC group of nations creates an “advantageous bond.”

Bilateral trade has greatly increased in recent years to more than $1.3 billion in the first half of 2014, a 63 percent rise with respect to the previous year.

The year 2010 was a turning point for both nations as bilateral trade jumped from $648 million to $1.3 billion in only 12 months Soybean oil is by far the main export from Argentina to India and accounts for 79 percent of its total sales in the country, while India exports mainly electronic appliances to Argentina.

In order to take their ties further, it is important for the companies to know the qualities of the other country, which largely remain unknown and is a setback for investment, according to Bianco.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Director Dushyant Thakur highlighted the size of the Indian market as one of its greatest assets, with 17 percent of the world’s population.

Argentina is expected to continue fostering its business ties as it participates in the India-Latin America and Caribbean Conclave in New Delhi over the next two days.

Date: October 15, 2014

Source: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2356678&CategoryId=14093