Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Tuesday to advance cooperation between their nations, with a strong emphasis on enhancing trade and economic engagement.
In a post on the social media platform, President Lula highlighted the need to align trade volumes with the size of both economies.
“The deepening of our partnership also depends on strengthening economic relations. Our trade flow of 12 billion dollars is not commensurate with the scale of our economies. When I was in India twenty years ago, we aimed to reach 15 billion dollars. We are determined to accelerate this goal, tripling that value in the short term,” the Brazilian President posted on X.
He further noted, “Since the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, more than 70 Brazilian trade and investment promotion missions have visited India. During the same period, we received 40 Indian technical visits here.”
“I thanked Prime Minister Modi for the recent opening of the Indian market to Brazilian chicken and cotton. The expansion of the MERCOSUR-India agreement could help reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers that still hinder our trade. Currently, only 14% of Brazilian exports to India are covered by the agreement,” the post added.
During a joint press conference, Prime Minister Modi echoed President Lula’s ambition, announcing a shared goal to raise bilateral trade to $20 billion over the next five years.
“Football is Brazil’s passion, just as cricket is loved by the people of India. Whether it’s sending the ball past the boundary or into the goal, when both are on the same team, a $20 billion partnership is not difficult to achieve. Together, we will also work on expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA),” PM Modi stated.
The Prime Minister emphasised that cooperation in the energy sector continues to grow. He also highlighted a broader agreement to deepen engagement across sectors.
PM Modi praised President Lula as the ‘Chief Architect of the Strategic Partnership between India and Brazil’. He also credited him with advancing bilateral ties.
Taking to X, PM Modi posted, “Held fruitful talks with President Lula, who has always been passionate about India-Brazil friendship. Our talks included ways to deepen trade ties and also diversify bilateral trade. We both agree that there is immense scope for such linkages to thrive in the coming times.”
“Clean energy, sustainable development and overcoming climate change were also prominent topics of discussion in our talks. Other areas where we will work even more closely include defence, security, AI and agriculture. India-Brazil cooperation in space, semiconductors and DPI will benefit our people,” the post further added.
Prime Minister Modi first attended the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Following that, he received a ceremonial welcome at Alvorada Palace in Brasília.
Taking to X, the Brazilian President posted, “It was a great satisfaction to receive Prime Minister Modi. Two remarkable countries like India and Brazil cannot remain distant. The strength of our democracies, the diversity of our cultures, and the vigour of our economies draw us together.”
He further emphasised shared values and goals in global forums, stating, “As members of the G20 and BRICS, we act in defence of multilateralism and in favour of more inclusive global governance. It is unacceptable that countries of the stature of India and Brazil do not hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council. We are natural allies in addressing two of the greatest challenges of our time: the eradication of hunger and poverty and the fight against climate change. I thanked Prime Minister Modi for India’s participation in the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.”
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