India and Brazil signed a mining and minerals cooperation pact on Saturday (21 February), as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries aim to increase bilateral trade to more than $20 billion within five years.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Modi and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is on a three-day visit to New Delhi.
Brazil is among the world's top producers of iron ore and holds large reserves of minerals critical to steelmaking.
Closer cooperation is expected to improve India's access to raw materials and technologies needed to sustain long-term growth in its steel sector, an Indian government statement said.
The cooperation will focus on attracting investment in exploration, mining and steel sector infrastructure, the statement said.
India has steelmaking capacity of 218 million metric tons, and companies are expanding output to meet rising domestic demand driven by infrastructure development and industrialisation.
Addressing a meeting with a Brazilian delegation led by Lula, Modi said their talks had focused on ways to deepen the India-Brazil trade partnership.
"We are committed to taking bilateral trade much beyond $20 billion in the next five years," Modi said.
Bilateral trade between the two countries currently stands at about $15 billion.
"Our nations will also work closely in areas such as technology, innovation, digital public infrastructure, AI, semiconductors and more," Modi said.
India and Brazil have been strategic partners since 2006, with cooperation spanning trade, defence, energy, agriculture, health, critical minerals, technology and digital infrastructure.
Brazil is India's largest trading partner in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and the two countries work closely on global issues such as UN reform, climate change and counter-terrorism.
Lula on Thursday (19 February) called for Brazil and India to conduct trade using their own currencies instead of U.S. dollars. He dismissed speculation that the BRICS group, which includes both countries, would introduce a common currency.
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