The Agreement was signed by Indian ambassador to Argentina Dinesh Bhatia and the Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Santiago Cafiero.
| Photo Credit: Embassy of India in Argentina

India and Argentina on Friday signed an agreement to ensure legal rights of professionals in each other’s domain that will assist in risk-free international mobility. The Embassy of India in a statement said that the ‘Social Security Agreement’ is aimed at ensuring rights of the growing number of Indian nationals employed in various Indian and international concerns in Argentina as well as for Argentine nationals seeking employment in India. 

“The Social Security Agreement signed today after detailed yet speedy negotiations, particularly expedited in the last year would protect rights of professionals and workers against loss of benefits or contributions made towards social security in both countries and thus facilitate greater movement of professionals and labour force,” a statement issued by the Embassy of India in Buenos Aires has stated. 

The Agreement was signed by Indian ambassador to Argentina Dinesh Bhatia and the Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Santiago Cafiero. Mr Cafiero visited India in April last year when India extended support to Argentina’s claims for reopening the international campaign for the Falklands which are also known as Las Malvinas. 2022 marked the 40^th anniversary of the war over the territory that was fought between Argentina and the UK. Argentina does not recognise British sovereignty over the region. 

This was followed by the first visit of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Buenos Aires in August 2022 when he met his counterpart as well as President Alberto Fernandez and discussed trade ties. President Fernandez visited New Delhi during the latest G20 summit held here when he also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The two leaders had met earlier in June 2022 in Munich G7 summit. India and Argentina elevated the bilateral relation to the level of strategic partnership during the February 2019 India visit of President Mauricio Macri. PM Modi had visited Buenos Aires in 2018 for the G20 summit that Argentina had hosted. 

“The number of Indian professionals working in Argentina for Indian as well as multinational companies under intra-company transfers for short or long-term, is steadily rising. There are also growing number of Argentine nationals who are seeking employment in India. These growing number of people-to-people exchanges have necessitated a legal framework to protect their rights, especially those related to social security contributions,” the Indian mission has said. 

The Social Security Agreement (SSA) between India and Argentina has created a legal framework which will enable professionals on both sides to claim old age and survivor’s pensions. That apart it also safeguards “permanent and total disability pension for employed persons as well as to legislations in Argentina concerning contributory benefits of the Social Security System”. It also takes care of factors like “rent, subsidy and lump sum payments” as per national laws of both countries. India-Argentina trade ties have been expanding in recent years covering, IT, agriculture, automobile and pharmaceuticals sectors. 

Several Indian majors like TCS, Infosys, Crisil, Bajaj Motorcycles, Royal Enfield, Hero Motors, TVS, Glenmark and Godrej are active in Argentina. According to a statement from the Press Information Bureau India is the 4^th largest trading partner of Argentina with bilateral trade reaching $6.4 billion in 2022. The 2022 trade figure indicated 12% growth over the 2021 bilateral trade. In July this year, India and Argentina agreed to exchange researchers and startups in the field of biotechnology and agriculture. The discussion in this regard was held here during the July visit of Omar Angel Perotti, the Governor of Santa Fe province of Argentina.