Agriculture and trade partnership likely to get new impetus with PM’s landmark Brazil visit

Rio de Janeiro: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, the bilateral relations between India and Brazil are likely to receive a huge impetus, especially the agricultural and trade sector, when he will meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit as well as hold bilateral meetings.

Speaking to IANS on PM Modi’s visit to Brazil, Meghmani Organics Limited Managing Director and FICCI Gujarat Vice-Chairman Natu M. Patel said, “The synergy between India and Brazil is remarkable, especially in the field of agriculture. Brazil, as a country, has very high agricultural output — many of their crops have better per-hectare yields than ours. Yet, despite this strong production, they import a significant amount of agricultural inputs such as fertilisers…”

Speaking to IANS while highlighting trade partnership between India and Brazil, Kiri Industries Group Secretary Suresh Gondalia said, “Currently, trade between India and Brazil stands at $15 billion. I believe this figure will continue to grow, especially with Prime Minister Modi’s visit and the signing of key bilateral agreements…”

Earlier, upon landing in Brazil’s state capital, PM Modi also interacted with several members of the Indian-origin community here where he was given a warm and rousing reception.

The bilateral trade relations between India and Brazil is pegged at $12.20 billion during 2024-2025, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.

Brazil is also India’s largest trading partner in South America. India’s total investment in Brazil stands over $6 billion while Brazil’s total investment in India is around $1 billion.

The FSSAI and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Brazil, signed an MoU in the area of food safety in 2024.

India and Brazil signed an MOU for cooperation in health in January 2020.

Both PM Modi and President Lula da Silva had previously met in December 2023 (Dubai), June 2023 (Canada), June 2024 (Brazil) and June 2024 (Italy).

This visit will be PM Modi’s fourth visit to Brazil.

BRICS brings together 11 major economies of the world which includes Brazil , Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi arabia, the UAE and Indonesia.

India has also chaired BRICS earlier in September 2021, October 2016 and March 2012. India also hosted over 150 events and meetings during the Presidency of the BRICS Summit in 2021.

During his visit, PM Modi will attend the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6 and 7, followed by a state visit, for which he will travel to Brasilia. It will be the first bilateral visit to the country by an Indian Prime Minister in nearly six decades..

For the State Visit to Brazil, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Brasilia where he will hold bilateral discussions with President Lula da Silva on the broadening of the strategic partnership between the two countries in areas of mutual interest, including trade, defence, energy, space, technology, agriculture, health and people-to-people linkages.

In a statement before leaving for the five-nation tour, PM Modi said that as a founding member of BRICS, India is committed to the bloc as a vital platform for cooperation among emerging economies.

“Together, we strive for a more peaceful, equitable, just, democratic and balanced multipolar world order,” he said.

IANS