September 27, 2016
Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das, Consul General of India in New York, joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986, and has held various diplomatic positions since then, including in Spain, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, China, Romania, Albania, and Moldova. She also headed the Public Diplomacy Division and Latin American and Caribbean Division in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. On Monday, September 12, 2016, Das attended a special luncheon meeting held by St. John’s University’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS). The luncheon was well-attended by interested students, faculty, administrators, and community leaders.
The Ambassador’s engaging presentation focused mainly on India’s important relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean. She explained that the warm and friendly relationship India enjoys with most countries in this region is built upon mutual political, economic, environmental, and technological collaboration and support. The two distant regions share membership in the Group of 77 (G77), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Group of Twenty (G-20), and other international coalitions. Additionally, India maintains an ongoing dialogue with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The two regions share a symbiotic trade relationship, as well. India was the third largest destination for exports from Latin America and the Caribbean in 2014, and approximately 20 percent of India’s energy requirement is met from oil-rich Latin American and Caribbean countries like Venezuela. India is also the world’s top destination for vegetable oil, third for crude oil and copper, and number four for gold from Latin America. Professionals from Latin America and Caribbean countries also benefit from the International Technical and Economic Cooperation Program, a bilateral assistance program run by India’s government that works to address the needs of developing countries through technological cooperation and training. Das also noted the presence of an Indian diaspora of about one million people residing mostly in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname, adding a personal dimension to this multinational relationship.
The presentation was followed by questions and comments from the audience.