• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Transcript of Special briefing by MEA on Prime Minister's State visit to Brazil (July 08, 2025)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

July 08, 2025

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Boa Tarde. We have with us Secretary East, Shri P. Kumaran, to brief you on Prime Minister's ongoing state visit to Brazil. We are also joined by our Ambassador to Brazil, Shri Dinesh Bhatia, as also our Joint Secretary who looks after Brazil in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Praphullachandra Sharma.

With that, I request Secretary East to make his own opening remarks, after which we'll take some questions from the audience. Sir, over to you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Thank you, Randhir. Good afternoon, friends. As you are aware, Prime Minister Modi arrived in Brasilia on a state visit yesterday evening after participating in the successful BRICS summit on 6th and 7th July at Rio.

The Prime Minister, on arrival, received a warm welcome from the Indian community. The visit to Brazil is the fourth visit in the last 10 years by Prime Minister Modi to Brazil. In fact, this is the second ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brazil, taking place after 57 years.

The Prime Minister has earlier visited Brazil on three occasions. The first visit was in July 2014, followed by a visit in 2019. Both were to attend BRICS summits and thereafter, in November last year, to participate in the G20 summit in Rio, all for multilateral engagements.

Talking of today's engagements, the Prime Minister was received warmly by President Lula and was accorded a ceremonial welcome on his arrival at Palacio da Alvorada, the official residence of the President of Brazil.

To begin with, the Prime Minister held a restricted meeting with President Lula, followed by delegation-level talks. Prime Minister took the opportunity to thank President Lula for extending warm and gracious hospitality to him and his delegation in Brasilia, as well as in Rio.

During the bilateral talks, both leaders discussed the entire spectrum of the partnership. Let me try and list out some of the key areas that were discussed. It includes defense and security, agriculture, food and nutritional security, energy transformation and climate change, digital transformation and artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, industrial partnerships, including defense industries, critical minerals, oil and gas, and also bioenergy and pharmaceutical industry, and also business and private sector cooperation, including trade and investments.

They also had an opportunity to talk about healthcare and traditional medicine, tourism, space, science and technology, and cooperation in the area of Digital Public Infrastructure. The two leaders noted that ample opportunities lie ahead for diversifying and expanding bilateral trade. They set a bilateral trade target of $20 billion to be achieved in the next five years. They also decided to elevate the level of trade talks and establish a ministerial level mechanism for monitoring trade, commerce and investment-related matters.

The Prime Minister requested the support of Brazil in expanding the India-MERCOSUR preferential trade agreement, especially given the fact that Brazil is the pro-term president for the rest of the year, noting that such an expansion can bring mutual benefits for both sides. President Lula conveyed Brazil's support towards expansion of the India-MERCOSUR PTA and instructed his team to work towards such an expansion.

Highlighting the global challenge of climate change, both leaders reiterated their commitment to work together towards climate action and sustainability. Prime Minister reaffirmed India's support and wished President Lula success towards holding the forthcoming COP30 climate change conference in Brazil. Brazil's rich reserves of critical minerals, including lithium, copper and rare earth elements, align with India's need for secure and sustainable resources to drive its clean energy transition and industrial growth. Both leaders welcomed possible opportunities for collaboration in the area of mining, processing, and refining of critical minerals.

Both leaders also acknowledged the importance of the agriculture sector and its significant contribution to the economies on both sides. The Prime Minister proposed enhanced collaboration in sharing knowledge, best practices and technology transfer in various areas. It was also noted that both sides signed an MOU on cooperation and agricultural research.

Other areas of cooperation that were discussed, as I mentioned, include health and pharmaceutical sectors, especially on India's request for fast-tracking approval for entry into the Brazilian market for medicines that have been already approved by the US FDA or the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM) for imports of medicines from India into Brazil. The Indian side mentioned that this can result in cost-effective medical products in the Brazilian market.

There was also a discussion on collaboration in the area of digitalization and Digital Public Infrastructure. There was also talk about enhancing people-to-people relations and connectivity, cooperation in the area of sports and sports management, capacity building, highlighting India's strengths in cricket and Brazil's strength in football.

After the delegation-level talks, there was a signing and exchange of MOUs and agreements. Three agreements were signed today and exchanged in front of the President and the Prime Minister. These were the agreement on cooperation in combating international terrorism and transnational organized crime, an MOU on cooperation for the sharing of successful large-scale digital solutions for digital transformation, MOU on cooperation and renewable energy. Three more agreements are ready to be signed and will be signed later today. These include an MOU on agricultural research between the concerned bodies on two sides, agreement on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information, and an MOU for cooperation in the field of intellectual property.

After the signing of the agreements, the Prime Minister was conferred with the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross by President Lula. The Prime Minister dedicated this award to the Indian people and to the enduring friendship between the two countries. It was followed by a joint press statement between the two leaders.

After the signing of the agreements, the Prime Minister was conferred with the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross by President Lula. The Prime Minister dedicated this award to the Indian people and to the enduring friendship between the two countries. It was followed by a joint press statement between the two leaders.

President Lula hosted a banquet lunch in honor of Prime Minister Modi. Over lunch, the two leaders exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest, especially on issues concerning the Global South, and their determination to enhance South-South cooperation, including collaboration across all global platforms of which India and Brazil are members, such as BRICS, G20, IBSA, and also the UN.

The Prime Minister invited President Lula to pay a visit to India, and the invitation was generously accepted by President Lula.

I just wanted to highlight one point that I missed out earlier. On security and terrorism, the Prime Minister thanked President Lula for expressing firm condemnation and extending support and solidarity to the people of India in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on the 22nd of April that killed 26 innocent citizens. The Prime Minister also reaffirmed that India stands firm in its resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

President Lula expressed his full support in the fight against the menace of terrorism. Thank you very much. I'll leave it at that.If you have any questions, I'll be happy to take them.

Vishal Pandey, ABP News: Sir Vishal Pandey hoon ABP News se. Jo agreement hua hain combating international terrorism ko lekar iske baare mei thodi aur jyada jankari agar mil paye toh.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Vishal Pandey from ABP News. If possible, could we get a bit more detailed information about the agreement that has been made regarding combating international terrorism?

Meghana Dev, DD India: Sir, I'm Meghana Dev from DD India. I have two questions. First, on biofuels, what has been the talk on biofuels? Can you elaborate for us? And also, in the pharmacy sector, are there also discussions about contract manufacturing that private companies in India would want to do here in Brazil?

Daniel Carvalho, Bloomberg: Hello, Daniel Carvalho for Bloomberg. I'd like to know if you have discussed anything about Brazilians selling ethanol to India. That was one of the main interests of Brazil in this meeting today.

And the other question is, President Lula made in his remarks some comments about Trump's announcement from this week. Have Prime Minister Modi and President Lula discussed that during the meeting?

Suryagni, ANS: Suryagni from ANS. Sir, the Prime Minister also spoke on decomplicating the issues with visa so that more Indian tourists can come over here. What is the status of the entire thing over there? And where is it right now?

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Okay, let me start with the question on counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime. The agreement essentially deals with exchange of information. For transfer of persons and criminals, etc., we have other legal frameworks such as the Extradition Treaty, mutual legal assistance treaties, etc.

This is for real-time or near-real-time intelligence cooperation so that one can try and, you know, deal with counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime more effectively. So that's the thing. The text will, of course, be available soon. We'll put it out as soon as it is signed.

A question on biofuels. Essentially, two kinds of biofuels, biodiesel and, of course, ethanol. Brazil, as you know, has a mandate for mixing ethanol with traditional fossil fuels. I think it stands at about 30%. India is also pushing a mandate on mixing ethanol with traditional fossil fuels. We have been talking to Brazil about their experience on mandating flex-fuel content and trying to learn from their experiences in regulating this.

There are also crops that are grown on either side which can be converted into biofuel. We want to try and see what we can do together to learn from each other's experiences, what kind of technologies are available on either side so that we can benefit from each other.

President Trump's comments. There was no discussion on that, so I will leave it at that. We didn't have an opportunity to discuss that.

Visa liberalization. As part of the broader rubric of enhancing connectivity between the two sides, we spoke about visa liberalization also, especially for bona fide businessmen and tourists. One of the points that came up was to find a way to make it possible for multiple-entry visa for businessmen who are interested in exploring the Brazilian market for enhancing trade.

On the Indian side, we have significantly liberalized visa processes for businessmen from all parts of the world, including from South America. We actually have an e-business visa which makes it much easier for businessmen from Brazil to travel to India for business purposes.

One of the points that was made by President Lula was also that sometime next year there will be a business delegation that goes from Brazil to India to study the opportunities available, given the priority for both sides to try and diversify their trade relationships and investment relationships so as to enhance their ability to explore opportunities within the Global South and also work together in various areas together between India and Brazil.

Shri Dinesh Bhatia, Ambassador of India to Brazil: There is another important thing which has been agreed upon today between the two leaders ... is formation of a review mechanism and consultation mechanism at the level of trade ministers to look into the trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Let me also reiterate a point that I made earlier to add to what the Ambassador said. The two sides agreed that bilateral trade, which is in the range of about 12.2 billion today, needs to be raised to 20 billion in the next five years.

Meghana Dev, DD India: If there is any talk about contract manufacturing that Indian private pharma companies would like to do here?

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Yes, sorry I missed that. President Lula actually welcomed Indian companies to manufacture drugs and pharmaceuticals in Brazil. He also said we can find ways to work together, do joint research in the area of pharmaceuticals.

And he also said they will work on fast-track approvals for Indian drugs to enter easily, a point that I had made during my initial remarks, especially for drugs having USFDA approval or EDQM approval.

Shri Dinesh Bhatia, Ambassador to Brazil: On drugs, as it is you might be aware that about 15 large Indian laboratories, the Indian pharmaceutical companies are already present in Brazil. Many of them are manufacturing also in Brazil.

And both the leaders welcomed this concept of not only export from India, but also doing joint collaborations in Brazil to produce medicines. President Lula was very enthusiastic to take advantage of economical medicines that India is producing for its public health distribution system. And they are willing to look at these possibilities.

In that connection, let me also add that ANVISA, the drug regulatory agency of Brazil, has opened an office in New Delhi recently. So that also adds to the impetus that is required to push this sector.

Shri Praphullachandra Sharma, Joint Secretary: The joint committee, which includes both the pharmaceutical regulators, so that they can review this licensing mechanism together, that is also proposed by the Brazilian side. And during the next meetings it will be taken up so that the registration process is faster.

Felipe Frazão, Estadão Newspaper: Yes, I'm Felipe Frazão from Estadão newspaper from Brazil. Yes, so just to make clear, there was a positive answer from the Brazilian side on this matter of the pharmacy production in India to enter the Brazilian market.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Pharmacy, can you repeat your question?

Felipe Frazão, Estadão Newspaper: Yes, just to make clear, there was a positive answer for your request.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Positive answer.

Felipe Frazão, Estadão Newspaper: And if you could brief us on the space collaboration between the space agencies. And given the fact that President Trump's tariff threats, they were made after the BRICS declaration was already published. So, are India and Brazil and other BRICS countries exploring or maybe, are they going to answer to that tariffs in the next days? Is that possible? If there is any discussion on this regard. Thank you.

Akhilesh Suman, Doordarsan: Sir, I'm Akhilesh Suman from Doordarsan. Both India and Brazil are countries where agriculture is one of the major professions. So, in that situation, if we collaborate, collaboration will be in what way? Like you mentioned agriculture research, but other than agriculture research, we can also be competitors. So, to avoid that situation, are we collaborating in food processing or something like that in which Brazil has some expertise?

And my second question, sir, will be in critical minerals. Like you told that Brazil is rich in critical minerals. But whether we will get some permission for mining inside Brazil or they will give us preferential supply of critical minerals? Thank you, sir.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Well, thank you. You asked about satellite and space cooperation. In fact, there was a discussion on that. Brazil is interested in collaborating with India on satellites and space programs in general. The Prime Minister had an opportunity to brief the president on India's low-cost program. He, in fact, highlighted that our Mars mission costs less than making a Hollywood movie on the Mars mission.

He also pointed out that there were 300 Indian startups in the area of space and that some of them were founded by very young entrepreneurs and that they were doing very interesting cutting-edge work with the support of the Indian Space Research Organization in the area of space.

We also had an opportunity to discuss cooperation in the area of launch vehicles and launching Brazilian satellites. India in the past has launched a Brazilian satellite called Amazonia 1. And there was interest in collaborating more in this area. So, yes, there is a lot of interest in terms of cooperation between the two sides in the area of space.

President Trump's statement ... this visit was focused on bilateral cooperation. So, there was nothing related to BRICS discussed today in this visit. So, I'll focus on bilateral matters.

Agricultural cooperation, you know, there are multiple areas where we can collaborate in agriculture. Agricultural research is one area, sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture. In fact, the Brazilian delegation made a very specific mention of importing rice from India. There are times when the crops here produce less than what is expected in a particular season. And those times, the output needs to be augmented by importing from elsewhere. So, India is the world's largest producer of rice. It is being considered as a possible source of imports. So, President Lula did mention it in that context.

And naturally, you know, agriculture is an area where as two large agricultural powers, there is scope for any new technology, any new breeding technique that emerges. All that, you know, gets subsumed under agricultural research cooperation.In fact, on livestock and animal husbandry, there was extensive reference to the Gir, you know, cow, ox variety that came from India in the early 20th century and how it has been developed further to produce genetic strains that are very, very, very productive in terms of milk supply.

Critical minerals. Again, Brazil has a lot of critical mineral resources. We are open to all kinds of collaboration here, whether it is our companies coming and investing in critical mineral assets here or forming joint ventures to try and explore and exploit mineral resources here.

And also, to procure refined critical minerals if possible. So, all options are open and on the table. So, we would very much welcome any opportunity to collaborate with Brazil on this.

Shri Dinesh Bhatia, Ambassador to Brazil: In fact, on the critical minerals, given our interest in critical minerals and also rare earth minerals, we were told that Brazil is coming up with a new policy in the second half of this year and that will open up many more opportunities for Indian companies. For India in particular, for us.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: So, with that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this press conference. Thank you very much for your presence.

Brasilia
July 08, 2025