About Us India and Uruguay

Embassy of India

Buenos Aires

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INDIA-URUGUAY BILATERAL RELATIONS

Political Relations 

The Embassy of India in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is concurrently accredited to Uruguay. Diplomatic relations between two democratic countries were established in 1960. Uruguay has an Embassy in New Delhi and an Honorary Consulate in Mumbai.  

Bilateral Interactions  

2.  The then Prime Minister of India Ms. Indira Gandhi visited Uruguay in 1968. The then Vice Presidents of Uruguay, Mr. Danilo Angel Astori Saragosa, and Dr. Hugo Fernandez Faingold visited India in 2011 and 1999 respectively. 

3.  Ministerial level interactions and visits between the two countries have taken place from time to time. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Paganini met Minister of State, Mr. V. Murleedharan on the sidelines of G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Rio de Janeiro in Feb. 2024. Uruguayan Education Minister Pablo da Silveira participated in the 1st edition of Voice of Global South Summit (VOGSS) held virtually in January 2023. Mr. Omar Paganini, Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in 2nd edition of VOGSS held virtually in November 2023. Earlier, External Affairs Minister (EAM), Dr. S. Jaishankar, had a telephonic conversation with the then Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mr. Ernesto Talvi on 29 April 2020 during Covid pandemic. Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development visited Uruguay and called on Vice President of Uruguay, Ms. Lucia Topolansky on 16 November 2017. Foreign Minister of Uruguay, Mr. Rodolfo Nin Novoa visited India in October 2015 with a commercial delegation to participate in the India-LAC Conclave.  

4.  A 10-member Parliamentary delegation led by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs & Coal and Mines, Mr. Pralhad Joshi, visited Uruguay 14-17 June 2023. The delegation was received by Vice President & President of Senate Ms. Beatriz Argimón and President of Lower House of Parliament Mr. Sebastián Andújar. A Rajya Sabha delegation comprising four Members of Parliament participated in ‘2nd World Summit of Committees of Future’ in Montevideo on 25-27 September 2023. Earlier, a parliamentary delegation from India had visited Uruguay in 2012 and a Parliamentary delegation from Uruguay visited India in 2010.   

5.  Foreign Office Consultations have been institutionalized between the two countries through an Agreement signed in 1999. The fifth round of FOCs was held in March 2023 in New Delhi for which Deputy Foreign Minister Nicolás Albertoni visited India. During the visit, he also participated in the Raisina Dialogue 2023 and had meeting with Ministers of External Affairs and Commerce & Industry. The fourth round of FOCs was held in November 2021 in Montevideo.

6. Four young political leaders from Uruguay participated in the third edition of ICCR’s Gen-Next Democracy Program in July 2022. Six journalists from mainstream media have visited India under XP Division’s familiarization programs, four in 2023 & two in 2024.

Economic and Commercial Relations   

7.  The bilateral trade has been on an upward trajectory in recent years with India having enjoyed the surplus traditionally. In 2023, bilateral trade stood at USD 545.38 million of which Indian exports constituted USD 401.63 million and imports from Uruguay were USD 143.75 (Source: DGCIS; In USD million). Plastics, petroleum oils, vehicles, auto-parts and organic chemicals are the main items of export from India to Uruguay. Timber, shorn wool, edible oils, iron & steel casings and tubes and inorganic chemicals are the main items of export from Uruguay to India. 

8. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) established its software development centre and regional training centre in Montevideo in 2002, the first ever in Latin America, which now employs more than 3,500 employees including about 600 Indians. Another Indo-American company, Infogain, opened its delivery center in Montevideo, in April 2022. 

Cultural Relations   

9.  Yoga and meditation are popular in Uruguay. There are several hundred followers of Sai Baba, ISKCON, Art of Living, Brahma Kumaris and other Indian yoga and spiritual groups. All editions of International Day of Yoga (IDY) in the country have seen enthusiastic participation by Uruguayans in large numbers. Ambassador Dinesh Bhatia led celebrations of 9th IDY on 15 and 18 June 2023, organized in association with Indian Cultural Association of Uruguay (ICAU) and AgNIY (Association of Yoga Institutes in Uruguay) respectively, which saw participation of more than 20 yoga schools and more than 1000 yoga enthusiasts. Mr. Prahlad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affaris, Coal and Mines, along with the visiting parliamentary delegation joined the IDY event on 15 June. 

10.  The 7th Ayurveda Day was celebrated in Uruguay on 02 November 2022 i.e on Dhanvantari Jayanti in collaboration with Asociacion Uruguaya de Medicina Ayurvedica (AUMA), a non-profit organization formed with the objective of promoting the knowledge of Ayurveda in Uruguay.  

11.  As part of Gandhi@150 celebrations, a commemorative stamp and a philatelic sheet on Mahatma Gandhi was launched in Montevideo on 27 November 2019 at the premises of the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry. In February 2011, the Uruguayan postal department issued a stamp to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.  

12.  A seven-member Kuttiyattam troupe led by Mr. Sooraj Nambiar of SNA Kuttiyattam Kendra gave performances in Uruguay in March 2018. An Odissi performance was organized in Montevideo in March 2015. A mini-Festival of India was organized in Montevideo in 2009. 

Technical and Development Co-operation   

13.  India offers 5 ITEC scholarships to Uruguay every year. In 2022-23, 03 ITEC slots were utilized by Uruguay. Seven diplomats from Uruguay have attended various editions of the Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service in New Delhi. A proposal to set up an India-Uruguay Centre for Excellence in Information Technology in Montevideo is under process.  

Indian Community  

14.  There are approximately 950 Indians living in Uruguay, of which roughly 900 are NRIs, most of whom are employees of TCS and their respective families, and reside in Montevideo. 

15.  During his visit in June 2023, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Pralhad Joshi interacted with members of Indian community in Montevideo. The Embassy organized an event at the premises of TCS Montevideo to commemorate the Constitution Day on 26 November 2019 with members of the Indian diaspora. 

Multilateral Organisations in Uruguay   16.  Uruguay hosts headquarters of MERCOSUR in Montevideo, a trade bloc of southern LAC countries including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. An India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was signed on 25 January 2004 and became operational in June 2009. Preferential duty (10-20 % in most cases) is given to selected Indian Products entering MERCOSUR countries and vice versa.  

17.  The Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) headquartered in Montevideo received a CII business delegation in October 2019. Subsequently, Ambassador Bhatia delivered an address on “India on the International Stage and its Relations with Latin America: Commercial, Economic Challenges and Opportunities” on virtual platform on 21 July 2020 for representatives of 13 Member States and resident Ambassadors of various countries.

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Useful links 

Embassy website: www.indembarg.gov.in
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IndiaInArgentina
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Indembarg
Instagram: www.instagram/indembarg

March 2024