With India leaving no stone unturned to shred its dependence on China for the supply of raw materials, New Delhi is looking at countries in South America and Africa for minerals like Lithium and Cobalt required for electric vehicles

India is reaching out to countries in South America and Africa which are rich in minerals like Lithium and Cobalt. Lithium and Cobalt are two such raw materials required to achieve India’s goal of converting all its vehicles into electric vehicles by 2030.

According to a report published in Financial Express, India has already been reaching out to countries in the `Lithium Triangle’ – Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile in South America and has been meeting with officials in Congo, South Africa as they have huge deposits of Lithium and Cobalt.

The move was necessitated by the latest face off with China as it has brought the import of raw materials from China to a standstill.

The report says State owned (KABIL) consortium of three PSU companies including National Aluminum Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corp Ltd., (MECL) have been travelling to the South American countries as well as to Congo and South Africa seeking possibilities of cooperation.

In recent times, India has brought a major shift in its foreign trade policy and seeks Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with countries which can help it to achieve the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” mission. This means India is keen to sign FTAs with countries which can provide raw material required for manufacturing activities.

India has also identified mineral rich countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Congo, South Africa to ink FTAs, the report says.

So far India already has a trade agreement with Chile. The report also adds that India is exploring possibilities to sign FTA with Bolivia large deposits of silver, tin, copper and gold.