Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive engagements with Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Hyderabad House in New Delhi today. The External Affairs Ministry said that the discussions focused on strengthening the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership across trade, energy, defence, agriculture, climate action, technology, AI, semiconductors, critical minerals and Global South cooperation.
Both leaders reiterated their vision for an inclusive and multipolar world order. They also called for urgent reform of the United Nations, in particular the UN Security Council. Both leaders conveyed their strong commitment to strengthening the global fight against terrorism.
A total of ten agreements were exchanged in areas such as critical minerals, digital cooperation, sharing of traditional knowledge, health, MSME, entrepreneurship and mass communication, among others. Both leaders committed to raise bilateral trade to over 20 billion dollars in the next five years.
In his joint statement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India-Brazil ties have strengthened under President Lula’s leadership. Saying that Brazil is India’s largest trade partner in Latin America, Mr Modi committed to taking the bilateral trade beyond 20 billion dollars in the coming five years. He added that India-Brazil trade is not just a figure but a reflection of trust.
Prime Minister expressed happiness that India and Brazil are working on establishing a Centre of Excellence for Digital Public Infrastructure in Brazil. He said that bilateral collaboration in the field of technology and innovation holds significance not only for both countries but also for the entire Global South.
Mr Modi stated that the agreement on Critical Minerals and rare earths is a major step towards building resilient supply chains. He said that cooperation in the Defence sector is also continuously growing, terming this as an excellent example of trust in each other and strategic synergy. He said they will continue to strengthen this win-win partnership. The Prime Minister asserted that when India and Brazil work together, the voice of the Global South becomes stronger and more confident.
He said India and Brazil agree that terrorism and its supporters are enemies of all humanity. He said both nations also agree that reforming global institutions is extremely necessary to address the challenges of the present time.
Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi received President Lula da Silva in a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Brazil President also visited Rajghat and paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi. The External Affairs Ministry said in a social media post that Mahatma Gandhi’s values and ideals continue to inspire the India-Brazil partnership.
India and Brazil share a warm, close and multi-faceted Strategic Partnership, rooted in shared democratic values, close people-to-people ties and expanding cooperation across key sectors. India and Brazil have been strategic partners since 2006. Brazil is India’s largest trading partner in the Latin American Countries, LAC region.
Bilateral engagement has continued to deepen in areas such as trade and investment, defence, energy, agriculture, health and pharmaceuticals, energy, including renewables, critical minerals, rare earth materials, science and technology and innovation. The two countries share common views on various international issues, including UN reforms, climate change and combating terrorism.
Both countries also enjoy excellent cooperation in plurilateral fora such as BRICS, IBSA, G20, G-4, the International Solar Alliance, the Global Biofuel Alliance, and the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure, as well as in the larger multilateral bodies such as the UN, WTO, and UNESCO.
