NEW DELHI: Central America is scouting for investments from India, especially in the area of farm technology, information technology, outsourcing and research and development.

Top government representatives from the eight-member Central American Integration System (SICA), who are on an

In an interaction with Indian businesses organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, leaders from Panama and El Salvador listed the areas where Indian corporates could invest.

Speaking at the interaction, first vice president and minister of foreign affairs, Republic of Panama, Samuel Lewis Navarro, pointed out that Indians could take advantage of the Colon free trade zone in the country to set up their units."Units could be set up for exporting to other countries in Central America and also to the US," he said.

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Agreeing with Mr Navarro, El Salvador's vice minister for foreign relations, Eduardo Calix Lopez, said that products like textiles, which attracted high import duties in the US when exported from India, could be exported duty free from his country.

Both ministers said that the SICA countries did not compete with each other but complemented the other and would like to see a greater Indian presence in the region. The eight-member SICA includes Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras

The countries are also eager to learn from India's success story in agriculture. On Tuesday, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee offered to share India's expertise in various sectors including agriculture and small and medium enterprises with the SICA. It was decided to set up a joint technical group to enhance co-operation in the area of food security and other areas of interest to the countries.

It was agreed to double the India-SICA bilateral trade from $537 million in the next three years.