New Indian embassy in Paraguay signals new energy in India’s Latin America outreach

The formal inauguration of the new Indian embassy in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, this week signals a new momentum in India’s outreach to Latin America, which is often described as the last frontier for Indian diplomacy. The new embassy was jointly inaugurated by India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his counterpart Julio Cesar Arriola in Asuncion on August 22. “Jointly inaugurated the new Indian Embassy in Paraguay with FM Julio Cesar Arriola. Thank Minister of Interior @FedericoA_GF for his presence. A reiteration of our strong bilateral relationship and our long-standing multilateral cooperation,” Jaishankar tweeted. “Confident that this new resident mission will take the India-Paraguay relations to greater heights,” he tweeted. This is Jaishankar’s first-ever official visit to South America, which also includes Brazil and Argentine. Mr Jaishankar’s visit to the three countries will provide an opportunity to continue the ongoing high-level engagements with our partners in LAC, explore new areas of cooperation in the post-pandemic era, and exchange views on issues of bilateral and international significance, said India’s external affairs ministry in a statement. Although separated by thousands of miles and located in different time zones, trade India-Latin America  economic ties are on an upward swing. According to the Commerce Ministry of India, India’s exports to Latin America reached a record high of 18.89 billion dollars in 2021-22 (April-March). The exports have increased by an impressive 48% from 12.74 billion dollars in 2020-21. India’s exports to Latin America reached a record high of 18.89 billion dollars in 2021-22 (April-March), according to the Commerce Ministry of India.  The exports have increased by an impressive 48% from 12.74 billion dollars in 2020-21.