President Mauricio Macri on Monday called on India to invest in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale gas deposit.
President Macri is on an official visit to India, accompanied by over 100 Argentine business people, hailing from 70 companies based in 12 provinces. It is his first overseas trip in the current electoral year.
The head of state met his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Monday in New Delhi, following a day spent rallying Argentine business leaders to secure comercial partnerships with Indian firms.
"There are major opportunities surrounding non-conventional energy. This is reflected in the conversations we have had and will continue to have, in which we can find a way for India to participate in the world's second largest shale gas deposit which is Vaca Muerta", Macri told a joint press conference alongside Modi.
Both countries, Macri said, "are betting on the development of renewable energies".
For his part, Modi supported the idea of increased bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
"We must work to reinforce our contribution in the agroindustrial sector" in which Argentina "is part of the triangle of lithium, which contains around 54 percent" of the world's reserves, Modi said.
"India and Argentina compliment one another in major sectors and we must do this for the benefit of our people", he added.
Following the press conference, Macri addressed the opening of the India-Argentina Business Forum.
VACA MUERTA
Extended over 7.5 million acres and four provinces – Neuquén, Mendoza, Río Negro and La Pampa – Vaca Muerta is the world’s second-largest shale oil and gas deposit.
The Macri government has rallied multiple foreign governments to invest, or encourage private investment, in the project.
In October, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Macri. Topping the leader’s agenda was the approval of a bilateral investment agreement that will allow the country to bypass Argentina’s double taxation system, a key factor in the negotiations over Vaca Muerta.
-TIMES/PERFIL
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