Context:
India and Argentina have signed a ‘Social Security Agreement (SSA)’ to protect the legal rights of professionals in each other’s fields, promoting safe international mobility for professionals from both nations.
Relevance:
GS II: International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- Social Security Agreement (SSA)
- India-Argentina Relations
Social Security Agreement (SSA)
- The Social Security Agreement (SSA) ensures the protection of professionals’ and workers’ rights in India and Argentina regarding social security benefits and contributions.
- Reason for Agreement: The increasing number of Indian professionals working in Argentina and Argentine nationals seeking employment in India necessitated the establishment of this legal framework.
Key Highlights of the SSA
- Coverage: The SSA encompasses legislation in both countries related to various aspects of social security, including provisions for old age, survivor’s pension, and permanent, total disability pension for employed individuals.
- Benefits for Detached Workers: The agreement extends rights and benefits to detached workers, those working temporarily in another country, and their family members. These benefits encompass cash allowances for retirement, pension, rent, subsidy, or lump sum payments, all in accordance with local laws, without any reduction, modification, suspension, suppression, or retention.
- Regulating Insurance Period: The SSA establishes the legal framework for regulating the insurance period, including the period of services with contributions, contributory benefits, and their export for detached workers. It also covers crew members of airlines and ships.
- Coverage of Contributory Benefits: The agreement addresses legislation concerning contributory benefits within Argentina’s Social Security System.
- Protection of Rights: Overall, the SSA safeguards the rights of professionals and workers against the loss of social security benefits or contributions in both countries, facilitating increased mobility of professionals and the labor force.
India-Argentina Relations
Elevation to Strategic Partnership:
- India-Argentina relations were upgraded to the level of Strategic Partnership in February 2019, signifying their growing cooperation and collaboration.
Historical Ties:
- India’s engagement with Argentina dates back several decades. India established a Trade Commission in Buenos Aires in 1943, which later became one of India’s earliest embassies in South America in 1949.
- Similarly, Argentina had established a Consulate in Calcutta in the 1920s, which was later moved to Delhi and upgraded to an Embassy in 1950.
Trade Relations:
- India is currently Argentina’s fourth-largest trading partner.
- Bilateral trade between the two countries reached a historic high of USD 6.4 billion in 2022, registering a growth rate of 12% compared to 2021.
- Major Indian exports to Argentina include petroleum oils, agrochemicals, yarn-fabric-made ups, organic chemicals, bulk drugs, and two-wheelers.
- Conversely, India imports vegetable oils (soya bean and sunflower), finished leather, cereals, residual chemicals and allied products, and pulses from Argentina.
Historical and Literary Ties:
- India and Argentina share historical and literary connections, exemplified by Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Argentina in 1924 and Victoria Ocampo’s honorary doctorate awarded by Visva Bharati University in 1968.
Joint Declaration Against Terrorism:
- Both countries issued a joint declaration to combat terrorism. Argentina strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, and reiterated their commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
- They emphasized that no country should allow its territory to be used as a launchpad for terrorist attacks on other nations.
-Source: The Hindu
