Hari Seshasayee

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Hari Seshasayee, one of India’s foremost analysts of Latin America, to discuss India’s increasing exports to the region, India’s interest in Latin America’s Lithium Triangle, and the significance of China in India’s relationship with the region.

India and Latin America share similar demographics and challenges of density in the battle against COVID-19 India currently trails Latin America in the extent and volume of infection by a few weeks. Collaboration and sharing of local best practices can help both regions combat the contagion better.

An article on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Indian state of Maharashtra's food supply chains, published in Sambhāṣaṇ, the University of Mumbai's peer-reviewed journal

Book Chapter: “Indian Foreign Policy: The Rise of the South and Indo-LAC Relations” with Ambassador Jorge Heine, in Understanding Transition in South Asia Economy, Politics and Society, 2019, 265-289

The United States’ mounting sanctions against Venezuela, especially on the national oil company PDVSA, have had a profound effect on the Andean nation’s oil exports to far-flung India. However, despite numerous news reports apparently confirming the halting of Venezuela’s oil exports to India,[i] oil continues to flow from Venezuela to India, albeit in smaller quantities. As per Reuters’ calculations, India’s imports dropped considerably following the imposition of U.S. oil sanctions in January 2019, going down to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June 2019

In a new report, Mumbai-based researcher Hari Seshasayee offers an in-depth analysis of Indian-Venezuelan relations, explaining how—unlike Russia or China—India is an invaluable commercial partner for Venezuela but not an ideological or political ally. Venezuela’s declining production levels and additional pressure from the United States may negatively affect India’s willingness to trade with Venezuela in the short term. But in the long run, given India’s demand for oil and the size of Venezuela’s oil reserves, Seshasayee sees the fortunes of both countries as inescapably tied together.

El futuro de la cooperación de India y América Latina

More than thirty experts from India and Latin America imagine the future of cooperation between the two regions. They point to South-South integration as the inevitable path to export diversification and a key factor in achieving balance in global governance. The issues analyzed in this report include the opportunities that come with industry 4.0, new value chains, e-commerce, microfinance, and synergies in agricultural production, the vehicle sector, and the orange economy.

Co-author of a chapter on India-Latin America relations in a book edited by Johns Hopkins University and published by Brookings Institution Press.

“Recasting South-South Links” with Ambassador Jorge Heine, in Latin America and the Asian Giants: Evolving Ties with China and India, eds. Roett, Riordan, and Guadalupe Paz, Brookings Institution Press, 2016, 37-59.

Latin America Advisor, a Daily publication of the Inter-American Dialogue.

What reforms are most needed for the country’s criminal justice system, and how should they be implemented? How will the Temer administration address the widespread violence and overcrowding in prisons, and is there enough popular and political will to allocate any new funding needed to do so?

Last month, the Indian government approved plans to move forward with talks for a free trade agreement with Peru, which would be India's first free trade agreement in Latin America. In an email interview, Hari Seshasayee, a Latin America analyst at the Confederation of Indian Industry, discusses India's ties across Latin America.

New governments were voted in, others struggled through crises, some economies recovered and one country inched closer to peace; 2017 brings promise to some, stability to others and continued unrest elsewhere.

By Hari Seshasayee and Preeti John

Stanford Alumnus Srihari Seshasayee, Latin American Studies ‘15, presented his M.A. capstone research at an Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) conference in October.

Members of the diplomatic corps attended the conference, which focused on India-Latin America relations, and since the ICWA is the Foreign Ministry’s think tank, the presenters were also invited to the Residence of the Vice President of India.

The Colombian government will sign a final and comprehensive peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces, a national guerrilla movement, on September 26. This is momentous, bringing to a close an insurgency that has inflicted widespread bloodshed and displacement. But making reparation may take an unpredictable course

Despite the increase in commercial ties over the past decade, India and Mexico still have a long way to go. A trade agreement between the two may help.