India reaffirms support for Argentina's entry into BRICS group after bilateral meeting

Following External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Argentina, the Argentine Foreign Ministry stated that India has welcomed the country's decision to join the BRICS group and is interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation. During his trip, EAM Jaishankar met with Santiago Cafiero, the Foreign Minister of Argentina, on Friday, August 26.

According to Sputnik, the foreign ministry stated, “During the bilateral meeting, the Indian Foreign Minister reaffirmed his country's support for Argentina's entry into the BRICS".  

Besides this, in Buenos Aires' San Martin Palace, Jaishankar co-chaired a Joint Commission Meeting with Cafiero. In the meeting, both the leaders covered a variety of subjects, including defence, people-to-people ties, as well as nuclear challenges. According to a statement from MEA, Jaishankar visited Argentina from August 25 to August 26 at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Worship. 

While talking about the meeting, Jaishankar said in a tweet, “A wide-ranging and productive Joint Commission Meeting co-chaired with FM @SantiagoCafiero of Argentina.” He further highlighted in a subsequent tweet that they had conducted a detailed review that included strategic fields like infrastructure initiatives, energy, and lithium, defence, space, and nuclear challenges, as well as trade and investment, along with market access, agriculture, and animal husbandry.  

Discussions between India & Argentina

Further, the G20 and United Nations reform, ties between India and MERCOSUR and India and CELAC, digital technology, the promotion of yoga, and people-to-people connections have also been covered by the two leaders. They even discussed Ayurveda and pharmaceuticals. 

In addition to this, both Ministers noted the in-depth discussions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez held at their first face-to-face meeting outside of the G7 Summit on June 26. 

In 2019, the two substantial, vibrant democracies, Argentina and India, deepened their ties with the Strategic Partners, according to the statement. This partnership was built on the principles of democracy, freedom, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and state territorial integrity. 

It is important to mention that Russia, India, China, Brazil, as well as South Africa are presently members of the BRICS organisation, which was founded in 2009. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the President of Algeria, announced at the beginning of August that his nation has been prepared to join the BRICS group, Sputnik reported. Further, Argentina and Iran both signaled their intent to join BRICS as full members last month. According to Dmitry Feoktistov, the Russian ambassador to Buenos Aires, Argentina anticipates that the process of joining the BRICS would not take very long. 

(Image: Twitter/ @DrSJaishankar)