India’s interest in Latin America and the Caribbean

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - In the movie, The Life of Pi, when the protagonist’s father seeks to reinforce his argument for the family’s move to Canada, he proudly declaims, “We will sail like Columbus!” The teenage Pi wryly reminds him, “But Columbus was looking for India!” And we all know that is why our region is called the West Indies. Almost unremarked, however, a curious inversion of the Genoese sailor’s geographically-challenged quest for the riches of the East has been taking place over the past 15 years. India is now reaching out to Latin America and the Caribbean, exploring possibilities for greater economic engagement with the region, beyond its traditional diaspora links with the Commonwealth Caribbean and Suriname and the presence of a fair number of Indian merchants in Panama. In 1997, taking into consideration the potential for increased trade with Latin America and the Caribbean, India’s Department of Commerce launched an integrated programme called Focus: LAC, which has since been extended up to March 2014. The programme aims at encouraging the Indian private sector, as well as state entities, to develop stronger trade and investment linkages with Latin America and the Caribbean, at the same time as it focuses on enhancing India’s export of textiles, engineering products, computer software, chemicals and pharmaceuticals to the region.