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India, Chile sign four pacts

— Photo: AP /Roberto Candia

President Pratibha Patil with Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet upon arrival at the La Moneda government palace in Santiago on Monday. Ms. Patil is on a two-day official visit to Chile.

SANTIAGO: India and Chile on Monday signed four agreements on the third and final leg of President Pratibha Patil’s 12-day state visit to Latin America. As a gesture of goodwill, India donated Rs. 25 lakh to the Mayor of Santiago for the maintenance of a shrine to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore at Plaza de La India.

The bilateral agreements signed in the presence of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Ms. Patil were in the areas of air services, science and technology, Antarctica expeditions and sports cooperation. A Phytosanitary and Sanitary (for quality and standardisation in food and commodities) pact that was expected to be signed, was not finalised.

Chile, the fifth largest producer in the world, is keen on selling wine to India, while India is looking to selling HAL-manufactured Dhruv Advanced Light and naval equipment to Chile. This and other bilateral issues came up during the closed-door meeting between the two Presidents, followed by the extended delegation-level talks.

Describing her meeting with Ms. Bachelet as “meaningful and constructive,” President Patil expressed the hope that this would help further diversify the institutional structure of mutual cooperation and give a boost to the bilateral ties.

“Our bilateral trade is growing well and there are many opportunities to diversify our trade and investment basket. Given the strong credentials of both our economies and the growing outreach of our business houses, the time is opportune for a substantial intensification of our economic engagement.”

Ms. Patil’s visit has evoked much curiosity here as she is the first woman President of India and Ms. Bachelet is the first woman President in Latin America.

Congratulating Ms. Bachelet on being the first woman President of her country, Ms. Patil lauded her commitment to democracy and social justice. She extended to her an invitation to visit India, which Ms. Bachelet accepted.

The bilateral trade of $2.4 billion between India and Chile got a boost with the signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement in 2006 between both the countries. Under PTA, India gives tariff preferences on 178 Chilean items, while Chile cuts duties on 296 items.

Chile is the first country in Latin America to sign a PTA with India. Copper forms the bulk of exports from Chile to India. Other items include fresh fruits, minerals, paper pulp and fish meal. Indian exports include pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering products, cars, trucks, two-wheelers, textiles and leather products.

In this visit there is an attempt to restore the balance of trade. Earlier, Ms. Patil said paying homage to national leaders at Plaza de La India was an “auspicious beginning to her visit to Chile.”

There are statues of Mahatma in four cities of Chile, which has a strong Indian presence. “Their values of truth and non-violence, democracy and humaneness bind us. My visit is intended to demonstrate the importance that India accords to improving and strengthening bilateral ties.”

She met the Margarita Karoiuka, the wife of the late Vishnu Karoika, who designed and development the Plaza. “We are very thankful that your husband did this for us,” Ms. Patil told herChile is shaped like a chili.

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