India attempting to deepen trade ties with Latin America as commerce secretary visits Panama and Colombia

At a time when demand for Indian goods in developed countries is declining, the country is trying to deepen trade relationships with Latin American countries to explore alternative growth frontiers.

Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar will lead a business delegation of engineering companies to Colombia and Panama on a five-day visit from today, “with an eye to explore the possibility of bilateral trade agreements”.

Indian exports to Latin American countries rose 72.5 percent in 2010-11 to $10.7 billion. However, India shares a trade deficit of $3.2 billion with the continent, with imports growing at 34 percent to $14 billion during the same year.

Original source: Livemint.com