Strengthening economic relations vital cog to deepen India-Brazil partnership: President Lula

Brasilia: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who met visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and held talks on a wide range of issues stressed the deepening of partnership between India and Brazil also depends on strengthening the economic relations between the two nations.

Taking to X, the Brazilian President wrote: “The deepening of our partnership also depends on strengthening economic relations. Our trade flow of $12 billion is not commensurate with the scale of our economies. When I was in India twenty years ago, we aimed to reach $15 billion. We are determined to accelerate this goal, tripling that value in the short term.”

He mentioned that 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 per cent of Brazilian exports to India are covered by the agreement,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a joint press meet, said that during the discussions with the Brazilian leader, “we agreed to strengthen cooperation across all sectors. We have set a 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 said.

The Prime Minister also mentioned that “our cooperation in the energy sector continues to grow steadily”.

Both leaders on Tuesday agreed to boost the cooperation between India and Brazil across all sectors. PM Modi described President Lula da Silva as ‘Chief Architect of the Strategic Partnership between India and Brazil’, underlining that the Brazilian leader has played a significant role in “deepening our relations”.

“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,” PM Modi wrote on X, also shared pictures of his meeting with the Brazilian President.

“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,” PM Modi wrote on X.

Earlier, PM Modi was given a warm welcome by President Lula da Silva at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia as he began a State Visit to the country following his participation in the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Taking to X, the Brazilian President wrote: “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 vigor of our economies draw us together.

“As members of the G20 and BRICS, we act in defense of multilateralism and in favor 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.”

IANS