Washington, Feb 19 – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s ongoing visit to India, starting with the AI Impact Summit and extending into a full state engagement, signals a deliberate push to elevate ties between the Global South’s two largest democracies beyond multilateral forums into deeper economic and strategic partnerships.
Dr. Anit Mukherjee, a senior economist at ORF America specializing in India-Brazil relations, emphasized the visit’s significance in an exclusive interview. ‘This is a very important visit,’ he noted, recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reciprocal trip to Rio de Janeiro last year for the BRICS Summit, followed by a state visit.
Accompanying Lula are 14 cabinet ministers—nearly half his government—and 150 business leaders, underscoring the delegation’s heft. Mukherjee highlighted that this composition points to ambitions in trade, investment, manufacturing, services, and beyond. ‘Brazil-India relations won’t stay confined to G20 or BRICS cooperation; they’re gearing up for robust partnerships across sectors.’
Historically, ties between the two nations have been steady but not exceptionally strong. Lula’s vision upon taking office in 2001 was to unite Brazil, India, and South Africa—the big three developing economies. This led to IBSA and eventually BRICS, laying a foundation of trust through high-level dialogues.
Today, both countries share compelling economic profiles: rapidly growing economies, vast young populations, and substantial technological prowess. Brazil stands as an agricultural powerhouse, while Embraer ranks as the world’s third-largest civilian aircraft manufacturer. Indian giants like Bajaj and Mahindra have established motorcycle and tractor factories in Brazil, and IT firms such as TCS and Infosys maintain strong market footholds there.
Emerging areas like digital public infrastructure offer fresh opportunities. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the world’s largest instant payment system, mirrors Brazil’s PIX. Together, they process nearly 1 billion transactions daily—rivaling Mastercard and Visa combined.
The Indian diaspora in Brazil, numbering around 4,000 non-resident Indians, is expanding, with yoga and Ayurveda gaining massive traction. As key BRICS and G20 members, India and Brazil coordinate on development finance, trade reforms, and Global South priorities, advocating for reforms in multilateral institutions to amplify emerging economies’ voices.
Over the past decade, bilateral trade has surged in agriculture, energy, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and IT, setting the stage for even stronger collaboration under Lula’s visit.