Five Pillars for a Sustainable India-Brazil Relations

• 10 Jul 2025

For Prelims: Biotechnology, Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, Biofuels, Flex-fuel Vehicles, Global Biofuels Alliance, UNFCCC, Critical Minerals, International Solar Alliance (ISA), WTO, India-Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), GM Crops.               

For Mains: Key areas of cooperation between India and Brazil, the challenges affecting their relationship, and the measures required to strengthen bilateral ties. 

Source: PIB

Why in News? 

India’s Prime Minister paid a state visit to Brazil where both countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership, established in 2006 and agreed to enhance bilateral relations centered on five priority pillars. 

• India’s Prime Minister was conferred Brazil’s highest state honour, the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross. 

Note: India’s Prime Minister arrived in Brasilia (capital of Brazil) after attending the 17th BRICS Summit 2025 (6^th-7^th July 2025) in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).  

• India will assume the BRICS Chairship and host the 18^th BRICS Summit in 2026. 

What are the Five Priority Pillars Agreed Upon to Enhance India- Brazil Bilateral Relations? 

• Defense and Security Cooperation: India and Brazil signed agreements on the Exchange and Mutual Protection of Classified Information to deepen strategic cooperation, and on Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime.  
  • They also launched a Cybersecurity Dialogue for information sharing. 
• Food & Agricultural Security: India and Brazil stressed the urgent need for concrete action on sustainable agriculture, and ensuring food access, with plans for joint R&D in agricultural productivity, animal genetics, and biotechnology. 
  • They voiced opposition to trade barriers impacting food security, and affirmed support for the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. 
• Energy Transition & Climate Action: India and Brazil emphasized the importance of sustainable biofuels and flex-fuel vehicles in decarbonizing transport and promoting sustainable development, while pledging to strengthen the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), of which both countries are founding members. 
  • India also extended support to Brazil’s UNFCCC COP30 Presidency (to be held in Belem, Brazil, November 2025) and the Tropical Forests Forever Fund. 
• Digital Transformation and Emerging Technologies: Both countries agreed to convene the Joint Commission on Scientific and Technological Cooperation to enhance collaboration in key areas such as digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, renewable energy, and outer space. 
• Industrial Partnerships in Strategic Areas: India and Brazil identified key sectors for collaboration, including pharmaceuticals, mining and critical minerals, and oil & gas. 
  • They agreed to address non-tariff barriers, fast-tracking the enforcement of the Bilateral Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty (2020) and and the Protocol amending the Convention for Avoidance of Double Taxation (2022), and launching a Brazil-India Business Council to strengthen private sector engagement. 

 

What are the Key Highlights of India-Brazil Relations? 

• Political & Diplomatic Ties: Diplomatic relations between India and Brazil were established in 1948, with India maintaining an embassy in Brasília and a Consulate General in Sao Paulo.  
  • The Strategic Partnership, established in 2006, has served to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties. 
• Trade & Economic Engagement: Bilateral trade in 2024–25 stood at USD 12.2 billion with key Indian exports including petrochemicals, agrochemicals, pharma, and engineering goods, while Brazil exported crude oil, soy oil, sugar, gold, and iron ore to India. 
  • Indian investments in Brazil total around USD 6 billion whereas Brazilian investments in India are around USD 1 billion. 
• Defense & Security Cooperation: The 2003 Defence Cooperation Agreement, ratified in 2006, established a Joint Defence Committee (JDC), and the 2+2 Political-Military Dialogue held its first meeting in 2024. 
• Space & Technology Collaboration: India launched Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite in 2021 and Brazil is interested in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). 
• Energy & Biofuels Partnership: India and Brazil co-founded the Global Biofuels Alliance (2023), operate Joint Working Groups on Oil & Gas and Bioenergy, and Brazil ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in 2022. 
• Cultural & People-to-People Ties: India opened its first cultural centre in Latin America in Sao Paulo in May 2011, and Brazil hosts a vibrant Yoga and Ayurveda community. 
  • The Indian diaspora, estimated at around 4,000, consists primarily of professionals and businesspeople. 

What are the Challenges in India-Brazil Relations? 

• Limited Economic Diversification: Bilateral trade, at USD 12.2 billion in 2024–25, remains modest, constrained by non-tariff barriers such as strict sanitary, and phytosanitary, affecting agricultural trade. 
  • Trade is constrained by over-reliance on commodities, with Brazil exporting raw materials and India exporting refined products, leading to limited value-added trade. 
• Geographical Distance: Trade competitiveness is reduced by high transportation costs and lengthy shipping routes, while connectivity bottlenecks and limited direct flights hinder business, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. 
• Competition in Agriculture & Biofuels: India and Brazil face rivalry in global sugar and ethanol markets, leading to competition over collaboration, while differences over subsidy policies, especially Brazil’s opposition to India’s sugar subsidies at the WTO, have caused friction. 
• Cultural & Awareness Gaps: Cultural understanding remains limited, with Brazilians often associating India with yoga/spirituality and Indians viewing Brazil through football/carnival, compounded by limited media and academic exchanges between the two countries. 
• Diverging Global Priorities: India and Brazil have different regional priorities—India focuses on the Indo-Pacific, while Brazil emphasizes Latin America. 
  • They also face multilateral alignment challenges, with divergent positions in WTO, and climate negotiations, particularly on agriculture subsidies and carbon emissions. 

In What Ways can India-Brazil Relations be Strengthened Further? 

• Boost Trade & Economic Engagement: Achieve bilateral trade target of USD 20 billion over the next 5 years by diversifying trade commodities and reducing non-tariff barriers through mutual recognition of pharma, food safety, and agricultural standards. 
  • Promote investments by encouraging Indian firms in Brazil and exploring an India-Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) expansion to cover more goods and services. 
• Improve Logistics & Connectivity: Establish an India-Brazil maritime corridor to reduce shipping costs and time, and launch direct flights between Delhi/Mumbai and Sao Paulo to enhance tourism and business connectivity. 
• Enhance Energy & Green Partnerships: Enhance collaboration on biofuels and ethanol by scaling up GBA projects and sharing India’s ethanol blending technology with Brazil’s sugarcane industry. 
  • Collaborate on critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and rare earths to support India’s EV needs. 
• Deepen Agricultural & Food Security Ties: India and Brazil should collaborate on developing GM crops and drought-resistant seeds, and promote joint ventures in organic food, vegan products, and ready-to-eat meals. 
• Strengthen Institutional Mechanisms: Hold annual Prime Minister–President summits to strengthen ties, promote state-level partnerships through sister-city agreements (e.g., Mumbai–Rio, Bengaluru–Sao Paulo), and advance Track-II diplomacy via think tank collaborations. 

Conclusion 

India and Brazil strategic partnership, anchored in five key pillars, holds immense potential despite challenges like trade barriers and logistical gaps. By boosting economic ties, enhancing tech collaboration, and aligning global priorities, both nations can emerge as pivotal Global South leaders, fostering sustainable development and mutual growth in a multipolar world. 

Drishti Mains Question:

"India and Brazil share a strategic partnership, yet bilateral trade remains below potential." Discuss the challenges and suggest measures to enhance economic engagement. 

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ) 

Mains

Q. “The broader aims and objectives of WTO are to manage and promote international trade in the era of globalization. But the Doha round of negotiations seem doomed due to differences between the developed and the developing countries.” Discuss in the Indian perspective. (2016)