Argentina & India played a symbolic polo match as part of this year's Festival of India in Buenos Aires.

From Bollywood in BA to the Gujarat Builders Argentina Trade Mission to Mayor Macri announcing Tata’s Arrival in the BA Tech District, InvestBA has charted the strengthening ties between Argentina and India in 2010.

Now Financial Times says these bilateral outreach efforts are not only paying cultural dividends, the two countries are rapidly forging a two-way trade relationship worth US$3.8 billion, up 150% from last year alone.

Like China, India’s insatiable demand for food is stoking Argentina’s export engine to the tune of $1.8 billion. Yet that is where the trade similarity with China ends. When China seeks to expand the relationship by investing mightily in Argentina’s rail infrastructure, it is purely in their self-interest of accelerating the export pipeline. India, conversely, takes a more enlightened route by encouraging Argentina to diversify and broaden its export offerings to India.

“It doesn’t stop at food,” writes FT’s Jude Webber. “Biodiesel (both to import and to produce) and wood and paper pulp are in demand by India. Tata is evaluating joint ventures for making cars in Argentina. And there are mining, steel and other ventures too. The recent hit Argentine cartoon Gaturro was co-produced by India’s Toonz Animation.”

More recently, the Festival of India in BA this month brought together over 250 Argentine businessmen and dozens of members of the Confederation of Indian Industry who are exploring joint ventures. The annual Festival was a fitting culmination of an important year in the Argentina/India relationship, one that is poised to boom in the coming decade. (Full FT article)

For more information about Argentina investment opportunities, download the latest issue of InvestBA Privada.