Annual Report 2011 - 2012

Annual Report 2011 - 2012
for Tax Information and Exchange Agreement was signed on
21 November, 2011 in Buenos Aires by Head of the Federal
Administration of Public Revenues of Argentina, Mr Ricardo
Echegaray and Indian Ambassador Shri R Viswanathan. The
IVth Edition of Festival of India was held in Buenos Aires
from 3-13 December, 2011. A seminar titled 'The New India
and the New Latin America - Complementarities and
Synergies', Indian cultural show with music and dance,
handicrafts and cuisine were showcased during the festival.
Bolivia
India made a cash contribution of US$ 200,000 to Bolivia
as a relief measure in the wake of floods in the north and
central regions of Bolivia. Jindal Steel Bolivia, a joint venture
of Jindal Steel and Power Limited of India and Empresa
Siderurgica Del Mutun of Bolivia, started export of iron ore
from its El-Mutun mine in which Jindals' estimated investments
are US$ 2.1 billion spread over a five-year period.
Brazil
The India-Brazil Strategic Partnership continued to
strengthen with exchange of high-level bilateral visits during
the year. The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, met the
President of Brazil, Ms. Dilma Rousseff, on the sidelines of
the BRICS Summit in April 2011 in Sanya, China and the
IBSA Summit in Pretoria, South Africa in October 2011.
The Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri
Jyotiraditya Scindia, visited Brazil from 27 April-2 May, 2011
to participate in the World Economic Forum on Latin
America in Rio de Janeiro. Governor of the State of Minas
Gerais, Brazil Mr Antonio Anastasia, accompanied by a 30member
business delegation visited India on 9-18 October,
2011 and had very useful and productive meetings with
industry representatives in India. The fifth meeting of the
India-Brazil Joint Commission at the Foreign Ministers level
was held in New Delhi on 12 December, 2011 and was co-
Chaired by the External Affairs Minister, Shri S M Krishna,
and the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Mr Antonio Patriota.
They reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and
exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues. On 9
December, 2011, Secretary (West), Shri M Ganapathi and
his Brazilian counterpart, Under Secretary General of
Brazilian Foreign Affairs, Ms Maria Edulieza, held a review
meeting of the Joint Commission Meeting covering the wide
spectrum of our relations.
Prof. C N R Rao, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister of India led the Indian
delegation to the 7th Meeting of the India-Brazil Science
Council held in Rio de Janeiro from 25-27 August, 2011
and reviewed the cooperation agreement as well as joint calls
96
of projects. The Finance Secretary, Shri R Gopalan, led the
Indian delegation to the first 'India-Brazil Economic and
Financial Dialogue' held on 30 June, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr S Y
Quraishi, visited Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro from 29 June-2
July, 2011 and met with the President of the Brazilian
Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Mr Ricardo Lewandowski.
An Indian cultural festival called 'Mostra Mudra' was
organised in four cities of Brazil -- Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo,
Brasilia and Belo Horizonte -- from 19 May-5 June, 2011
with the participation of 45 prominent artists. Seminars on
Rabindranath Tagore were also organised at the Federal
University of Minas Gerais State and the University of Sao
Paulo. An Indian Food Festival called 'Festival de
Gastronomia Indiana' was organised from 14-17 September,
2011 in Brasilia. The India Cultural Centre was established
in Sao Paulo in May 2011.
The Centre for Latin American Studies of Goa University
organised an International Conference titled 'India-Brazil
Dialogue' on 28-30 October, 2011.
Chile
Bilateral relations with Chile received further impetus with
the visit of Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Meira Kumar, from
12-15 January, 2012. She led a multi-party Indian
Parliamentary delegation at the invitation of the President
of the Lower House. During her visit she met President of
the Senate, Mr Guido Girardi and addressed members of
the Chilean National Assembly.
Amongst other important interactions is the visit of Minister
of State for Mines, Shri Dinsha J Patel, to Chile from 27
April to 1 May, 2011 during which he met with Chilean
Minister of Mining Mr Laurence Golborne and Chilean
Mining Industry Representatives. He also visited Codelco
Chuquicamata Copper Mine and SQM Lithium Mine. Mr
Jorge Bunster, Director-General of International Economic
Relations of Chile visited India from 12-15 April, 2011 and
met with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. The
Third Meeting on the Expansion of the Indo-Chilean
Preferential Trade Agreement was held in Santiago on 30
June-3 July, 2011. Dr S Y Quraishi, Chief Election
Commissioner participated in the bicentenary celebrations
of the Chilean Congress from 2-8 July, 2011 in Santiago
and signed an MoU for exchange of views in the field of
electoral process of the two countries.
The important business interactions and visits to Chile during
the year included FIEO business delegation from 12-18
November, 2011; EPCH Buyer-Seller Meet on Handicrafts
from 27-30 November, 2011.Amongst important Indian