India is helping Argentina to develop a Centre of Excellence for IT in Argentina to enhance skills of IT engineers. It will be helpful to Indian companies as well as Argentine engineers, says Daniel Chuburu, Ambassador of Argentine Republic to India, in an exclusive interview to Priyanka Sharma of Elets News Network (ENN).
India and Argentina are working closely in many fields. Tell us about the future and scope of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
India and Argentina are going to celebrate 70th anniversary of their bilateral relationship next year. In all these years, we have worked on a number of projects together. We are increasingly strengthening our relations every year. We are also trying to collaborate in areas where we have not worked yet and looking forward to boost our relationship with India in every sphere. We want to expand the horizon of the relations between the two countries so that it becomes much more strategic in nature than it is today.
Can you elaborate on the joint projects undertaken by the both the countries?
India and Argentina are jointly developing a Centre of Excellence in the field of Information and Communications Technology. The proposal for the project, which was initiated by the Government of India, envisages creating skilled IT engineers in Argentina. The project will help Indian companies who want to employ skilled Argentine engineers in South America and also Argentina by developing skilled human resource who can in turn train more people.
What do you think of the ‘Digital India’ programme of the Government of India?
India has made a lot of progress in this field. We draw a lot of lessons from India’s know-how in the field of IT, especially in business exchanges between Argentine and Indian companies. We have a lot of learn from India. We want close cooperation with India in the development of various IT skills in Argentina.
What role is Argentine Government playing in transforming India’s urban landscape through Smart Cities project?
We want to participate in Smart Cities Mission by helping India through various means. Recently, we participated in a Smart Cities seminar in Jaipur.
How is Argentina planning to promote its tourism in India.
We have to develop an understanding about our culture and tourism sector among Indians. For this, a lot of awareness and promotion has to be done from our side. We have to put a lot of efforts in this field.
Direct connectivity was a problem between the two countries 20 years ago. But it is not a problem anymore. We are separated by thousands of miles and it cannot be changed. However, around 6-7 companies are now acting as a bridge between New Delhi and Bueno Aires. Now there are just one-stop flights between the two countries.
How is Argentina supporting Indian companies in expanding their businesses there?
We offer a lot of incentives in term of fiscal policy and tax exemption for the companies looking to invest in our country.