New Delhi: India and Brazil are forging an increasingly robust strategic partnership, highlighted by growing high-level engagements and expanding cooperation across crucial sectors like defence, aerospace, and space.
Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs, emphasized that this alliance significantly bolsters both nations’ capabilities to navigate the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
Speaking at Brazil’s National Day celebrations in New Delhi, Tandon extended India’s warm wishes and congratulated Brazil on its recent presidential elections, wishing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva success in his upcoming term. He noted that Brazil holds a special place in India’s diplomatic history, being independent India’s first embassy in South America, underscoring their shared history, global interests, and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Looking ahead, both countries have an ambitious bilateral agenda. Leaders have set a formidable trade target of USD 30 billion by 2030, alongside plans to deepen collaboration in defence, aerospace, and space. Brazil’s Ambassador to India, Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nóbrega, echoed this sentiment, projecting bilateral trade to soon hit USD 20 billion. He highlighted expanding cooperation in critical minerals, defence, energy, pharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence, marking a new phase of engagement ahead of their 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Ambassador da Nóbrega stressed that political vision and business dynamism are converging to elevate India-Brazil relations. India has emerged as Brazil’s fifth-largest trading partner, with significant progress made in expanding the trade agreement with MERCOSUR. The partnership, built on mutual trust over eight decades, is yielding tangible results in areas vital for future competitiveness and resilience, including rare earths, critical minerals, pharmaceutical research, and digital partnerships. Both nations are key partners in the Global South, actively collaborating in multilateral forums such as BRICS, G20, and the United Nations, working towards reforming global governance institutions.