“Traditionally India has been doing business with North America, Europe and Middle East countries. Trade with the ASEAN region also picked up during the 90s, while trade between India, Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) regions has been neglected for a long time due to the distances,” he said.
Presently, it takes around 45 days to reach Latin America countries through the sea route. This duration can be reduced to 30 days with a direct sea link.
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“We are exploring the possibility of a direct sea link and air connectivity. Air India is planning to start a direct twice-a-week service between India and Panama by next year,” he said.
The bilateral trade between the two regions touched $30 billion in 2012 from $1 billion trade in 2000. “Seeing the immense investment opportunity, the trade between the two regions is expected to double over the next five years,” he said.
With the US and Eurozone crises Indian companies were now exploring emerging markets including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Peru, he said, adding the government was looking at mutually beneficial ventures in food processing, energy, mining, pharmaceutical and oil sectors.