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Uruguay wants India to set up full mission at Montevideo
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James Jose | 30 Apr, 2010
Uruguay has pushed for a full Indian mission in its capital Montevideo, showcasing the Latin American country as the gateway to the region and to expand bilateral trade and economic relations.
"It will help very much to have an Indian embassy in Montevideo. We have been here in New Delhi now for 12 years ago -- since 1998. And earlier to that we were present from 1960 to 1975," Uruguayan Ambassador Cesar Ferrer said.
"So, in 50 years of diplomatic relations with India, we have had Uruguayan embassy in Delhi for 27 years. But India has only an honorary consulate in Montevideo. We will like a full mission," Ferrer said.
At present, career diplomat R. Viswanathan is India's ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay since Oct 10, 2007, and is based out of Buenos Aires.
According to Ferrer, even though Uruguay may not be a large trading partner for India, the potential is immense, especially since the country has large tracts of cultivable land and is the seventh largest rice exporter in the world.
"Our fertile lands can be tapped to secure food supplies."
India's net exports to Uruguay were valued at $47.5 million in 2009, while it imported goods worth $10.5 million. Trade with Latin America as a whole was $15 billion, with exports from India valued at $5.8 billion and imports at $9.2 billion.
The ambassador said Uruguay also has the first and only free port in South America at its capital city, which offers huge warehousing capabilities. This makes the country a key logistics hub enabling distribution of goods to other South American nations.
He said being a part of Mercosur, a common market pact that also includes Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, his country was also a natural gateway to the region, promoting free flow of trade, goods, people and currency.
The secretariat of Mercosur is located in Montevideo.
"We now have the Mercosur-India preferential trade. So our engagement is bound to rise. We are building on the framework of a strong political, diplomatic relationship," said Ferrer.
"That's why I am saying, if you want to diversify and have a larger presence in Uruguay, an embassy is very important. In Montevideo we have embassies of very far away countries - China, Iran. Why not India?"
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