Modi and Milei Advance Bilateral Relations in Buenos Aires
In a landmark visit marking the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Argentina in 57 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Javier Milei came together in Buenos Aires to set the stage for a deeper, more diversified partnership between their nations. The talks, held on July 5, 2025, focused on expanding cooperation across key sectors including minerals, defence, space, energy, pharmaceuticals, and digital payments.
Strategic Collaboration Across Multiple Sectors
The discussions laid out a roadmap to strengthen ties in critical areas such as:
- Critical mineral exploration and development, vital for clean energy initiatives
- Defence manufacturing partnerships and maintenance support for Argentina's military helicopters
- Space technology cooperation
- Energy resources including shale gas
- Pharmaceutical trade with aims to ease market access through regulatory upgrades
- Digital health, telemedicine, information technology, and digital payments
A joint working group on agriculture was also agreed upon, including exploration of drone technology for defence manufacturing.
Trade Expansion and Digital Innovation
Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance of broadening the India-MERCOSUR trade agreement, seeking Argentina’s support to facilitate smoother trade flows. MERCOSUR comprises major South American economies such as Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. India advocated for a reclassification in Argentina’s pharmaceutical regulatory framework from Annex II to Annex I, aimed at enhancing market access for Indian medicines.
In return, Argentina highlighted its fast-track approval system for Indian pharmaceutical products.
The talks also spotlighted India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with President Milei expressing keen interest in adopting this digital payment system to strengthen Argentina’s financial infrastructure and enable more effective monetary policy management.
Longstanding Partnership with Promising Future
India and Argentina elevated their ties to a strategic partnership in 2019. Since then, bilateral trade has surged, with trade volume more than doubling between 2019 and 2022 to reach $6.4 billion. Although it dipped slightly to $5.23 billion in 2024, India remains one of Argentina’s top five trading partners.
Following the productive talks, Prime Minister Modi was presented with the Key to the City of Buenos Aires by Mayor Jorge Macri, symbolizing the warmth and promise of this renewed relationship.
Looking Ahead
Reflecting on the visit, Modi remarked on social media, “Excellent meeting with President Javier Milei of Argentina. We are marking 75 years of India-Argentina diplomatic relations and 5 years since we elevated our relationship to a Strategic Partnership. We have covered significant ground, but we agree the journey ahead is even more promising!”
