International Relations
President's Visit to Bolivia
- 01 Apr 2019
- 3 min read
Recently, President of India completed his visit to the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
- This was the first ever visit by an Indian president to Bolivia.
- Bolivia also conferred the highest State Honour of Bolivia on President of India.
The Plurinational State of Bolivia
- Bolivia is officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
- It is a landlocked country located in western-central South America.
- The capital of Bolivia is Sucre while the seat of government and financial center is located in La Paz.
- In 2009, a new constitution changed the country's official name to "Plurinational State of Bolivia" in recognition of the multi-ethnic nature of the country
Outcome of Visit
- 8 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed between India and Bolivia concerning fields of culture, visa waiver for diplomats, the exchange between diplomatic academies, mining, space, traditional medicine, the establishment of Centre of Excellence in IT and the Bi-Oceanic Railway project.
- Bolivia also joined the International Solar Alliance by signing the framework agreement.
- Lithium Deposit Exploration
- Both sides also agreed to work together for exploration and extraction of the vast Lithium deposits of Bolivia.
- Lithium is a key resource used in making batteries that India needs for its clean technology initiatives such as increased use of electric cars. It will be a boost to India’s FAME II scheme.
- India agreed to facilitate Bolivian supplies of lithium Carbonate to India and foster joint ventures for Lithium battery/cell production plants in India.
- Financial Aid
- Under the framework of South-South Cooperation, India gave a US$ 100 million Line of Credit to Bolivia for financing development projects in sectors that Bolivia may choose.
India-Bolivia Relations
- The Indian Embassy in Peru is concurrently accredited to Bolivia since April 1981.
- Bolivia opened a resident Mission in India in 2012.
- Trade Relations
- India-Bolivia bilateral trade has grown in the last two years and it stood at US$ 875 million in 2018.
- 60% of Bolivian gold is exported to India.
- Bolivia is the 8th leading trading partner of India in the Latin America region.
- There is a scope for diversifying trade basket to further strengthen the bilateral trade.
