EAM Jaishankar meets Chilean counterpart Mackenna, discusses boosting ties in trade and services
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chilean counterpart Francisco Perez Mackenna on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation across various sectors.
Following the meeting, Jaishankar said the two sides discussed ways to diversify markets and sourcing, promote exports and expand cooperation in the services sector.
“Delighted to meet FM Francisco Perez Mackenna of Chile this morning. Had a very good discussion on strengthening our bilateral cooperation to diversify markets and sourcing, promote export of priority items and facilitating the services economy,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
“Agreed to work closely in plurilateral and multilateral formats,” he added.
Mackenna, who arrived in India on May 9 on his first official visit, said the trip presents an important opportunity to deepen ties between the two countries.
“This visit will be a great opportunity to strengthen ties between Chile and India further. We look forward to deepening our partnership, expanding trade and investment opportunities, and advancing cooperation across a wide range of areas,” he said on X.
On Tuesday, Mackenna and members of the Chilean delegation also met Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to review progress in negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
After the meeting, Goyal said both sides discussed ways to deepen bilateral trade, investment and strategic cooperation.
“We reviewed the progress of CEPA negotiations and discussed ways to further deepen our trade, investment, and strategic partnership,” Goyal said.
He added that India values its longstanding partnership with Chile and remains committed to expanding economic engagement and people-to-people ties for “shared growth and prosperity”.
India and Chile are currently negotiating a proposed CEPA aimed at broadening trade relations and enhancing economic cooperation. The agreement seeks to expand the scope of the existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by covering additional sectors such as digital services, investment promotion, MSMEs and critical minerals.
The two countries had signed a Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation in 2005, followed by a PTA in 2006. An expanded PTA was signed in 2016 and came into force the following year. Both sides later agreed to further widen the agreement, with three rounds of negotiations held between 2019 and 2021.
To strengthen economic ties further, India and Chile agreed to pursue a CEPA after a Joint Study Group recommended a broader trade pact to boost exports, investment and employment opportunities. The Joint Study Group report was finalised and signed on April 30, 2024.
(DD News)
