Argentina affirms its support to India for upcoming G20 Presidency

Argentina affirmed its support for India's upcoming G20 Presidency, including for furthering the development agenda of the Global South in the G20, according to the joint statement released by New Delhi and Buenos Aires.

This statement came after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Foreign Minister of Argentina, Santiago Cafiero, presided over a Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Friday.

Notably, India will assume the presidency of G20 in September 2023.

Expressing satisfaction at the close cooperation between the two countries at the multilateral fora, both ministers agreed to closely cooperate with the United Nations and other multilateral organizations to address global challenges of terrorism, security, international and regional peace, climate change, biodiversity loss, equitable trade and sustainable development.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to international cooperation to tackle the environmental global challenges and called on the developed nations and multilateral financial institutions to increase funding, capacity building and technology transfer for developing countries.

"They reaffirmed their commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and stressed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, including its expansion to make it more representative, accountable, effective, and reflective of the contemporary realities of the 21st century. As the Member States of the Group of 77 in the United Nations, they agreed to continue to work together in multilateral fora to promote interests of developing countries and promote South-South Cooperation," the statement reads.

Both countries reiterated their commitment to the objectives of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. India congratulated Argentina as Chair for the period 2022-2023 and Argentina expressed its strong support for India's membership in the Group.

Looking at terrorism and extremism, which continue to pose threat to regional and global peace, both countries renewed their resolve to fight against this grave challenge to humanity, reiterating that response to terrorism must continue to be comprehensive taking into account the international framework.

Both Ministers noted the recent discussions between India and MERCOSUR, over the expansion of the existing Preferential Trade Agreement and emphasized their shared commitment to further promote trade for mutual benefit.

"Acknowledging prowess of pharma sectors in both countries, the two Ministers agreed to promote trade and investments in pharmaceuticals. EAM requested to explore the possibility for inclusion of India in the list of countries under Annex I of the Argentine Decree No.150 dated 20 January 1990," according to the statement.

Argentina also detailed the roadmap for the community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) during its Pro-Tempore Presidency in 2022 and highlighted the importance of dialogue with other countries and regional blocs, including India.

India reiterated its support for the resumption of negotiations to find a solution to the sovereignty issue relating to the question of the Malvinas Islands in accordance with the Resolutions of the UNGA and the Special Committee on Decolonization.

Both the ministers agreed to hold the next round of Joint Commission Meeting in India in 2023 on mutually convenient dates.

The External Affairs Minister is on an official visit to Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina from August 22-27.