India, July 7 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora and Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi on the margins of the Brics Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and discussed the enhancement of cooperation in areas such as trade, critical minerals, defence, healthcare and digital technology.

Modi described his meeting with Catacora as fruitful in a social media post and said Bolivia is a "valued partner in Latin America". He added, "We talked about the need for improving and diversifying trade linkages on a priority basis. We discussed how we can collaborate in sectors such as digital technology, critical minerals, healthcare, space and more."

During his meeting with Orsi, Modi said close ties between India an...