India Intensifies Trade Talks with Peru and Chile to Boost Latin American Ties

New Delhi — The Indian government has successfully concluded two significant rounds of trade negotiations with Latin American partners, Peru and Chile, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening economic cooperation and expanding trade relations with the region.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce, the ninth round of India–Peru Trade Agreement negotiations took place in Lima from November 3–5, marking substantial progress across several key areas of the proposed pact. These included Trade in Goods and Services, Rules of Origin, Technical Barriers to Trade, Customs Procedures, Dispute Settlement, and Critical Minerals.

Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Teresa Stella Mera Gomez, expressed optimism about the progress and reaffirmed Peru’s commitment to concluding the agreement soon. She emphasized the strong complementarities between the two economies and the potential for enhancing bilateral trade and investment.

India’s Ambassador to Peru, Vishvas Vidu Sapkal, highlighted India’s sustained economic growth and said the trade pact would open new opportunities for collaboration in sectors such as critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, and food processing.

Both nations agreed to hold inter-sessional meetings to resolve pending issues before the next negotiation round, which is expected to take place in New Delhi in January 2026.

Separately, the third round of India–Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations was held in Santiago from October 27–30. Discussions spanned a wide range of topics, including Trade in Goods and Services, Investment Promotion, Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property Rights, Technical Barriers to Trade/Sanitary and Phytosanitary (TBT/SPS) measures, Economic Cooperation, and Critical Minerals.

Both sides reiterated their shared commitment to achieving an early, time-bound conclusion of the CEPA talks aimed at improving market access, supply chain resilience, and regional economic integration.

“India’s growing trade engagement with Peru and Chile reflects its strategic focus on building stronger partnerships with the Latin American region through mutually beneficial and comprehensive economic cooperation frameworks,” the Commerce Ministry said.

With inputs from IANS