On September 22, 2026, Dr. S. Jaishankar co-chaired the India-CELAC Expanded Troika Meeting in New York, marking a significant participation from CELAC members and discussions focusing on strengthening cooperation.
The India-CELAC Expanded Troika Meeting, held on September 22nd, 2026 in New York, was co-chaired by Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India, and Mr. Mario Lubetkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay. The meeting was also attended by the Foreign Minister of Saint Lucia, Mr. Alva Baptiste, who outlined his roles within the Troika.
The India-CELAC Foreign Minister’s Meeting saw strong participation with 30 out of 33 CELAC members participating, including 16 Foreign Ministers and 5 Vice Ministers Level participation. The participants included the Foreign Ministers of Uruguay, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and Grenadians, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela, among others.
During the meeting, participants welcomed the landmark achievement of India–CELAC bilateral trade reaching $50 billion in 2025–26. Discussions further focused on strengthening India-CELAC cooperation, enhancing trade and development partnerships, and addressing global challenges through multilateralism. Both sides emphasized the importance of deepening political dialogue, economic collaboration, and people-to-people exchanges. They also agreed to work on establishing an institutional mechanism for reviewing the engagements periodically.
CELAC members expressed appreciation for India’s swift humanitarian response to Jamaica, Venezuela, and Colombia following earthquakes in 2025 and 2026. India reaffirmed its commitment to deepening its partnership with CELAC countries across a broad range of areas, including trade, climate action, renewable energy, digital transformation, health, food security, critical minerals, infrastructure building, space cooperation, agriculture, HADR and Capacity building. Both sides recognized the importance of expanding collaboration for their mutual benefit.
The meeting reflected India’s growing engagement in the Latin America & Caribbean region and the mutual desire to take the partnership to greater heights.
Source:
Ministry of External Affairs
