This article covers the diplomatic relationship between India and Bolivia: meetings between leaders, ministerial and official visits in both directions, and the institutional mechanisms the two governments have set up. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026 and reflects the position at that date.

How the brief describes the relationship

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India and Bolivia enjoy friendly and cordial relations. The brief states that bilateral exchanges, trade and investment are modest, but that the potential for increasing cooperation is substantial.

Both countries, the brief says, wish to improve the level of engagement and forge partnerships in lithium, mining, infrastructure development, health and pharmaceuticals, traditional systems of medicine, information technology, space, capacity building and development cooperation.

Meetings between leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Luis Arce Catacora of Bolivia on 7 July 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, on the sidelines of BRICS. The brief records this as the first ever bilateral meeting between the two heads of government. They discussed cooperation in critical minerals, trade and investment, health and pharmaceuticals, training and capacity building, infrastructure and development cooperation. Prime Minister Modi thanked Bolivia for the solidarity it extended to India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Earlier, at an outreach event organised by host Brazil during the BRICS Summit in July 2014, Prime Minister Modi and other BRICS leaders interacted with the Presidents of South American countries, including Bolivia.

State visit of President Kovind, March 2019

President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind made the first State Visit by a President of India to Bolivia, to Santa Cruz, from 28-30 March 2019. The then President, Evo Morales, personally received him on arrival in Santa Cruz.

President Kovind was conferred Bolivia's highest civilian award, the "Order of the Condor of the Andes", in the degree of Grand Collar, and was presented with the key of Santa Cruz city. Eight bilateral Agreements/MoUs were signed during the visit. Bolivia also signed the Framework Agreement of ISA, and the brief states that its ratification is now complete.

The brief names these agreements as signed during the State Visit:

  • a Visa Exemption Agreement for diplomatic and official passports
  • an MoU on Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy
  • an MoU between ISRO and ABE on Cooperation in the exploration and the use of outer space for peaceful purposes
  • an MoU on Cooperation regarding the Bi-Oceanic Railway Integration Corridor Project

It also records an MoU on Cooperation in Geology and Mineral Resources, and the Agreement between India and Bolivia for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technologies (CENETIC), signed in March 2019.

Other visits from India

  • April 2018: Minister of State (Railways) Shri Rajen Gohain paid an official visit to Bolivia from 20-21 April 2018, which the brief records as the first Ministerial visit from India to Bolivia.
  • January 2023: the then Minister of State for External Affairs, Mrs Meenakashi Lekhi, paid an official visit and held a bilateral meeting with the then Foreign Minister, Rogelio Mayta, on bilateral, regional and multilateral affairs. The brief describes this as the first ever visit from the Ministry of External Affairs to Bolivia.
  • August 2025: a 3-member delegation led by Dr. K. M. Praphullachandra Sharma, Joint Secretary (South America Division), MEA, visited from 3-8 August 2025. It included Mr. Rohan Das, Director, Geological Survey of India (GSI), and Mr. M. Jayapal Reddy, Executive Director, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
  • November 2025: Minister of State Pabitra Margherita led a 3 member delegation to represent the Government of India at the inauguration of the new President of Bolivia, Mr. Rodrigo Pereira Paz.

The August 2025 delegation took part in Bolivia's bicentenary celebrations in Sucre on 5-6 August 2025. The Joint Secretary called on President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora and Vice President David Choquehuanca Céspedes in Sucre, and conveyed greetings from the President, the Prime Minister and the people of India on the bicentenary. The delegation also held meetings with the Mayor of Santa Cruz, Mr. Max Jhonny Fernández Saucedo, the Acting Governor of Santa Cruz, Mr. Mario Joaquín Aguilera Cirbian, and the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Mr. Alejandro Gallardo.

The November 2025 delegation comprised Joint Secretary (South America) Dr. Prafullachandra Sharma and Director (MOS-PM) Shri Vipul Mesariya. During the visit the Minister of State launched the celebration of 150 years of Vande Mataram in La Paz, paid tributes at the Mahatma Gandhi bust in Mallasa Park and planted a sapling under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam initiative.

Visits from Bolivia

  • Vice President Mr. Edmand Lara travelled to India from 17-21 February 2026 to take part in the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, accompanied by the Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Omar Alfredo Penaloza Escalara, and two other officials. The delegation met the Vice President of India and the Director of ICAR, and visited the Pusa Institute of Technology, New Delhi.
  • Foreign Minister Ms Celinda Sosa Lunda paid an official visit to New Delhi on 20-21 March 2025 to take part in the 10th edition of the CII-LAC Conclave. She met EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar and held discussions on various bilateral issues.

Foreign Minister meetings

The brief lists these other meetings between EAM Dr S Jaishankar and Bolivian Foreign Ministers:

  • 26 September 2018: with the then Foreign Minister Diego Pary Rodriguez in New York, on the sidelines of the 73rd UNGA
  • 05 August 2021: with the then Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta in Tehran, on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
  • September 2022: with the then Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta in New York, on the sidelines of the 77th UNGA
  • January 2024: with Foreign Minister Ms Celinda Sosa Lunda in Uganda, on the sidelines of the NAM Summit
  • September 2024: with Foreign Minister Ms Celinda Sosa Lunda on the margins of UNGA in New York, where discussions covered bilateral relations and Bolivia's aspiration to become a member of BRICS

Institutional mechanisms

A Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Joint Commission at Vice Minister/Secretary level was signed at La Paz on 6 February 2025, by the then Ambassador Shri Vishwas Sapkal and Foreign Minister Ms Celinda Sosa Lunda. The Indian Embassy in Lima was concurrently accredited to Bolivia at that time.

The two sides have also set up Joint Working Groups (JWG) on minerals, on traditional medicine and on space cooperation, each under one of the 2019 MoUs listed above.