New York, Sep 26 (NationPress) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has extended India's expertise to Central American nations in areas such as digital payment systems, information technology, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture to collaboratively confront mutual challenges.

During the Fifth India-SICA Foreign Ministers Meeting on Thursday, he stated, “Our countries encounter similar issues concerning development, poverty alleviation, and climate change, and we can tackle these challenges more effectively through collaboration.”

He emphasized, “We aspire to develop this partnership into one yielding tangible outcomes that will contribute to a more inclusive, balanced, and multipolar world order.”

“We are keen to progress in the digital realm, renewable energy, food and health security, and climate action,” he continued.

The eight-member group known as the Central American Integration System (SICA), works towards enhancing regional economic and political cooperation, having initiated its collaboration with India at the ministerial level in 2004.

Jaishankar noted that India's collaboration with SICA has grown significantly, with joint efforts addressing issues like post-pandemic recovery, energy security, digital transformation, financing for development, and climate change.

He highlighted India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has achieved remarkable success in providing a seamless, real-time, and secure method for fund transfers. “Currently, over half of the world's cashless transactions occur in India,” he remarked.

India's private sector is increasingly interested in investing in SICA nations, particularly in agriculture, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and IT—fields where India has historically excelled.

Amid global efforts against climate change, “many of our companies have established a presence in solar, green hydrogen, and bioenergy,” he noted when discussing potential areas for cooperation.

Jaishankar recalled that during the Covid pandemic, India fortified its ties with the region by supplying vaccines and expressed readiness to collaborate with SICA to enhance public health systems and provide affordable healthcare.

In response to the widespread destruction caused by storms last year in the SICA region, India promptly delivered essential medicines, relief supplies, and emergency assistance as a gesture of solidarity.