Embassy of India
Santiago
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India-Chile Bilateral Relations

 

I - Political Relations:

India-Chile relations have traditionally been characterized by warmth, friendship and a commonality of views on a wide range of issues. Both countries cooperate extensively bilaterally as well as in multilateral fora and share similar views on climate change/renewable energy and on reforms of the UNSC. Chile has consistently supported India’s claim to a permanent seat in the UNSC.  It shares India’s concerns regarding international terrorism and both countries condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

2.         Bilateral relations have strengthened over the years with exchange of high-level visits including Prime Minister level visit in 1968 and three Presidential visits in 1995, 2008 and 2019 from the Indian side and three Presidential visits in 2005,  2009 and 2025 from the Chilean side. Several other visits at the level of Cabinet Ministers, parliamentary delegations etc. have also helped in furthering the relations.

3.         India and Chile celebrated 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2009, which coincided with the visit of then President of Chile, Dr. Michelle Bachelet Jeria to India. That visit was in reciprocation to the visit of then Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil to Chile in 2008. Hon’ble President Shri Ram Nath Kovind visited Chile in April 2019 marking the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations.

4.         Chilean President Mr. Gabriel Boric paid a State visit to India from 1-5 April, 2025 and undertook a comprehensive review of the bilateral relations with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.  The visit resulted in signing of several documents and opening up of new avenues for further development of cooperation in trade, mining and mineral resources, health and pharmaceuticals, ICT, agriculture, green energy, traditional medicine, Antarctica, Science & Technology, management of natural disasters, Startups and audiovisual co-production. The visit also resulted in the launch of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Prior to this, President Gabriel Boric participated in Leaders’ Session of  VOGSS 3.0 through a pre-recorded message in August 2024. He met Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 19th November, 2024 on the sidelines of G-20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro and discussed deepening of relations in various fields including pharmaceuticals, technology, space and Ayurveda. The most recent engagement was at the level of Foreign Minister when Foreign Minister of Chile Mr. Francisco Pérez Mackenna visited India in May 2026.  From the Indian side, Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh visited Chile in March 2026 and represented India at the inauguration of new President of Chile H.E. Mr. Jose Antonio Kast Rist.

5.         India and Chile have established a high-level Joint Commission for developing cooperation between the two countries. The first meeting of the Joint Commission was held virtually on 16 October 2020, co-chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister and Chilean Foreign Minister. The second meeting co-chaired by External Affairs Minister and Chilean Foreign Minister was held in New Delhi in August 2024, where they reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. The 9th round of the India-Chile Foreign Office Consultations co-chaired by Secretary (East) and Chilean Secretary General of Foreign Affairs was held in Santiago in November 2025 to follow up on the issues discussed during the VVIP visit.

6.         India and Chile have signed several Agreements/MoUs covering various fields of cooperation such as science and technology, mining, avoidance of double taxation, Antarctica, defence,  agriculture, new and renewable energy, education, air services, disaster management, cooperation in the field of drug regulation, cultural exchange program, cooperation in disability sector and gainful employment of spouses and eligible dependents of diplomatic personnel. 

7.         A parliamentary delegation led by Shri Jagdambika Pal, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha visited Chile from 11-15 January, 2025 for participation in the Summit meeting at the Congreso Futuro (13th January) and the 3rd Third World Summit of the Committees of the Future (14th January) and exchanged views with Chilean parliamentarians on a wide range of issues.

II - Trade and Economic Relations

8.         Chile is the 5th largest trading partner of India in the LAC region. The bilateral trade increased from USD 3.84 bn in 2024 to USD 5.38 bn in 2025. In 2024, exports to Chile were USD 1.24 bn and imports from Chile were USD 2.59 bn. In 2025 , Indian exports to Chile increased to USD 1.41 billion (14% increase) while imports from Chile increased to USD 3.97 billion (53% increase, mainly due to increased gold imports from Chile).

9.         India’s export to Chile comprises of automobiles, pharmaceuticals, electric machinery and equipment, clothes / textiles / shoes, chemicals, Agri and food products, iron & steel products, leather goods etc. whereas India’s imports from Chile have been confined to bulk minerals and ores (mainly Copper concentrate, Molybdenum, Iodine and Gold), inorganic chemicals, Agri products such as fruits etc. Prominent Indian companies which have either presence or some kind of representation in Chile are TCS, Infosys, Godrej,  Wipro, Dr. Reddys, Seven Pharma, Siron Pharma, MSN Laboratories, UPL, Bajaj Auto, Tata, Mahindra, Apollo Tyres, Ashok Leyland,  Sterling & Wilson, Tega Industries, Kalpataru Power and Vega Industries.

10.       Indian investment in Chile (based on the information given by various companies) is estimated at US$ 620 million. Indian companies have entered the Chilean market by acquiring Chilean companies or by setting up joint ventures. Chilean investment in India is estimated to be US$ 118 million.

11.       India-Chile Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) came into effect from September, 2007 covering 474 tariff lines. The scope of the PTA was expanded to 2829 tariff lines in September 2016. PTA came into force in 2017.  The two countries have now decided to negotiate a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement for which Terms of Reference were finalized in April 2025 during VVIP visit.  Since then,  four rounds of negotiations have been held both in India and Chile with last round in New Delhi in December 2025.

12.       An MoU on ‘Defence Cooperation was signed in January, 2007. Chilean Navy procured an Anchor Handling Towing Supply and Standby ocean support vessel from Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding in March 2020. A defence delegation comprising of representatives of Defence PSUs and some private companies participated in EXPO-NAVAL, one of the largest naval exhibitions in Latin America from 3-6 December, 2024 and showcased a wide range of defence products.

13.      One satellite belonging to Chile (SUCHAI-1) was launched by PSLV in 2017 as a co-passenger on commercial arrangement with Antrix, ISRO’s commercial wing. Three officials from Chile have participated in ISRO’s training programme called UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training as part of UNISPACE+50 initiatives).

14.       A large Indian business delegation of over 80 pharmaceutical companies visited Chile from 2-3 February 2026 and participated in India-Chile Pharmaceutical Business Forum. They  participated in 580+ B2B meetings with Chilean counterparts. A key highlight of the visit was the signing of an MOU between CENABAST and Pharmexcil for developing institutitional framework for cooperation in pharmaceuticals.

15.       25 slots are offered to Chilean civilian candidates every year and there has been a good response especially in courses for English language, IT skills, legislative drafting, Audit, E-governance, Renewable Energy and Environmental Technologies. Cumulatively, 375 Chilean candidates have so far attended ITEC training courses in India.  In April/May 2025, a customized ITEC course on ‘Big Data and Machine Learning with Python in Cloud’ was organized for 14 officials of Comptroller General of Chile. Slots were increased to 35 for the CFY 2025-26 given increase in ITEC applications.

 

IV – Cultural Relations

16.       Indian culture is very popular in Chile. There are a number of local Yoga schools (Kundalini Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Bikram Yoga etc.) and practitioners. Chile has declared November 4 as National Yoga Day.  Ayurveda is also slowly gaining popularity with the establishment of a few Ayurveda institutes/clinics. Organizations such as ISKCON, Brahmakumari Samaj and Art of Living are also flourishing.  There are a few Hindu Temples in Chile.
      
V - Indian Community:

17.       The origins of the Indian community in Chile can be traced back to 1905. Currently, it is estimated that there are around 4000 Overseas Indians (1850 NRIs and 2150 PIOs) living in Chile.  The majority are from the Sindhi community who are mainly engaged in business, and have integrated well into Chilean society. One third of them live in Iquique and the rest are in Santiago, Valparaiso, Vina del Mar and Punta Arenas.  In addition, there is a constant flow of professionals and businessmen from India, working mainly in the ICT and financial services sectors. Some Indian labour is also present in Chile, working mainly in Indian restaurants/shops.

Useful Resources:
Website : http://www.indianembassysantiago.gov.in/
Facebook : IndiaInChile/
Twitter : @Indiainchile
Instagram : @indianembassyinchile

June 2026