Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on State visit of President of Brazil to India (February 21, 2026)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Namaskar and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing by Secretary (East), Shri P. Kumaran, on the ongoing state visit of the President of Brazil, His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

For this press briefing, we are also joined by our Ambassador to Brazil, Shri Dinesh Bhatia, as also by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs who looks after Brazil, Shri K. Praphullachandra Sharma. With that, I hand over the floor to Secretary (East). Sir, the floor is yours.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Good afternoon and thank you for joining for this briefing on the state visit of the President of Brazil, His Excellency Lula da Silva to India. As you know, he arrived in India on 18th February 2026. And, during the period 19th and 20th February, he participated in the India AI Pact Summit. Today, he was given a traditional welcome in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. He, along with 11 ministers, met Prime Minister and his delegation at Hyderabad House.

This is President Lula's fifth visit to India as President of Brazil. The visit comes seven months after the state visit of PM to Brasilia on 8th of July 2025. President Lula had earlier visited India in 2004 as Guest of Honor for the Republic Day; in 2007 and again in 2008 to attend the IBSA Summit; and in September 2023 for the G20 Summit. He had also visited India in 2012 to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, but he did not hold office at that time.

India holds the presidency of BRICS this year, and Brazil is an important strategic partner and a key member of BRICS. During the meeting today at Hyderabad House, PM and President Lula held bilateral conversations and exchanged views on bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in multilateral fora, the need to reform global governance, and matters of importance to the Global South. Prime Minister Modi hosted a lunch in honor of the visiting dignitary.

The state visit gave the leaders an opportunity to review the entire gamut of our partnership, including trade and investments, oil and gas, renewable energy, mining and critical minerals, defense and security, agriculture and livestock, healthcare and traditional medicine, tourism, space, science and technology, including digital public infrastructure, as well as people-to-people relations.

The visit is a significant milestone in India-Brazil strategic relations and would add renewed momentum to our strategic partnership elevated in 2006. On the trade front, India's bilateral trade with Brazil is the largest compared to any other country in South America. It currently stands at 15.21 billion dollars.

In July 2025, the two leaders had set a bilateral trade target of 20 billion dollars by 2030. However, today the two leaders agreed that the trade should at least double to 30 billion by 2030. India enjoys a trade surplus of about 1.5 billion dollars with Brazil, with our exports totaling about 6.7 billion dollars against imports of about 5.4 billion dollars.

During the meeting, the leaders also discussed ways to strengthen and diversify bilateral trade, including through expansion of the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement, which currently covers 450 tariff lines. India and Brazil, along with other MERCOSUR countries, have agreed to significantly and substantially expand the PTA. Both leaders also discussed ways to facilitate market access, and address the relevant tariff and non-tariff barriers.

India and Brazil are strong and vocal proponents of South-South cooperation. Both countries collaborate closely across global platforms, including in BRICS, G20, IBSA, and the United Nations. We also collaborate as members of G4, seeking comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council.

Several bilateral MoUs were signed. We have a full statement, a joint statement which lists out the various MoUs that were signed. Principally, they relate to the MoUs between FICCI India and ApexBrasil; between Vale Group and Tata; Fiocruz and Biocon Pharma; and UNICA (Brazil Sugarcane Industry Association) and Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association.

President Lula also appreciated the revival of the Business Leaders Forum, and he also met with Indian business leaders. Thank you very much.

Huma Siddiqui, StratNews Global: Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from StratNews Global. I have two questions. One, you talked about the expansion of the India-MERCOSUR PTA, and we already have 450 tariff lines. So, have you decided how many more lines can be added to that?

And in the defense and security, was the draft for joining the Scorpene club discussed?

Rishikesh, PTI: Sir, Rishikesh from PTI. So, both the countries have signed this pact on critical minerals. So, has any specific target been fixed for importing minerals from Brazil?

And my second question is, did the two leaders also discuss broader uncertainty in the US trade policy?

Kadambini Sharma, Independent Journalist:Kadambini Sharma, Independent Journalist. Sir, given the context of US Supreme Court decision yesterday, was there any conversation regarding this, and if there was any talk about BRICS currency moving forward?

Brahma Prakash Dubey, Zee News:Sir, main Brahma Prakash Dubey, Zee News se. Mera sawal hai, jo dono netaon ke beech global issues par discussion hua hai, toh kya usme UN ke sudhaar ko lekar bhi koi charcha hui hai? Kyunki lagatar abhi Europe mein bhi kaha ja raha hai ki UN fail raha hai world ke jo problems ko solve karne mein, toh isko lekar kya charcha hui? Security Council mein davedari ko lekar bhi kya charcha hui? Thank you.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]Sir, I am Brahma Prakash Dubey from Zee News. My question is: during the discussions between the two leaders on global issues, was there any conversation regarding reforms of the United Nations? Because there is a growing view, including in Europe, that the UN is failing to effectively address global problems. So, was this issue discussed? Was there also any discussion regarding the claim for a seat in the Security Council? Thank you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Sure. Thank you very much. On the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement, we still haven't reached any... there have been a few rounds of discussions held, and we are still discussing which areas can be opened up.

There are sensitivities on both sides when it comes to agriculture, some industries that need protection on both sides, according to national priorities on either side. So, we don't have any details on which are the lines that are being opened up, or how many lines are being opened up, but it's still early days and currently the pro tempore presidency of MERCOSUR is with Paraguay, and Paraguay will lead negotiations for the next six months.

So, we are waiting for further details on how this proceeds, but there is a strong determination of all the MERCOSUR members, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay to take this forward and find ways to enhance trade because all are very keen on diversification of trade partnerships and also to enhance resilience in our supply chains.

On the Scorpène submarine maintenance cooperation. We had signed an MoU, Mazagon Docks Limited and the two navies have signed a tripartite MoU and work will start on the basis of that MoU. There was a reference to that when the two leaders spoke today. We will be awaiting further details on how exactly this is going to proceed, but clearly, this is an area of interest and a big opportunity for us to cooperate.

Critical minerals MoU. President Lula gave a very detailed presentation on Brazil's substantial critical minerals and rare earth reserves. He said only 30% of their reserves have been explored, and that there is substantial scope for exploration, processing minerals, and also using them. He said Brazil would value India's partnership in the area of critical minerals. So, we will be taking this forward by discussing with the concerned line ministries about how to engage in practical cooperation in this regard.

Yes, there was a discussion on the US trade policy and the implications of the US Supreme Court judgment. Both leaders agreed that it's a rather new development and that both sides need to study the implications of this and wait for further developments by the US administration. So, we will essentially be in a wait-and-watch mode to see how the administration responds to this judgment and whether any further steps are taken and to study the implications for our trade.

You asked about BRICS currency. There is no discussion about a BRICS currency. In fact, President Lula had said this in his interview yesterday to India Today. There is interest in trying to have some trade on the basis of local currency settlements, but there is no discussion for a BRICS currency, and I think President Lula had clarified this in ample detail yesterday. So, I would refer you to that also.

UN reform, aapne UN sudhar ke bare mein pucha. Ye hamesha hi kafi important subject rehta hai India-Brazil ke discussions mein. Hum log dono G4 forum ke members hain, India, Brazil, Germany aur Japan. Hum log ek dusre ke permanent membership candidatures ko support karte hain, aur UN mein hamare efforts coordinated rehte hain taki hum reform ko is direction mein propel karein ki hamare membership ke issue ko support mile. President Lula is baar bhi usi subject ke upar unhone baat kiya aur multilateralism, WTO aur United Nations ke related organizations including WHO, un sab ko strengthen karne ke liye, India ke sath kaam karne ke liye unhone kafi interest express kiya.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi]UN reform … you asked about reforms of the United Nations. This has always been a very important subject in India-Brazil discussions. Both of us are members of the G4 forum - India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan. We support each other's candidatures for permanent membership, and our efforts at the UN remain coordinated so that reforms move in a direction that advances our membership aspirations.

President Lula once again spoke on this subject. He also expressed strong interest in working with India to strengthen multilateralism, the WTO, and United Nations-related organizations, including the WHO.

Sudhi Ranjan, Bloomberg:Sir, thank you. Sir, Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. Sir, a little bit more explanation on the discussions on the US judgment if you could give us for our understanding, Sir.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Unfortunately, I don't have anything on that subject. All that was agreed upon was that it is too early and that there is a 10% tariff that President Trump has announced in his press conference yesterday. Now, which are the tariffs that remain, which are the tariffs that go away, all that is being studied in detail by our Commerce Ministry.

Sudhi Ranjan, Bloomberg:[inaudible]

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary East: All that was agreed upon was that these are all very fast-moving developments. It came in late last night and it was agreed that we will wait and watch and see what exactly it means for our trade.

Sudhi Ranjan, Bloomberg:Any discussion on coordinating positions on this that the leaders discussed?

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): We have not even reached that stage, you know. I see where you are getting at with this, but as of now, they said let's wait and watch. Any decision on coordination can happen once we study the implications for both our trades and then see how to take it forward.

Neeraj Dubey, Prabhasakshi: Sir namaskar, main Neeraj Dubey Prabhasakshi se hoon. Sir, agle panch varshon mein dwipakshiy vyapar ko 20 billion dollar se aage le jane ke liye kaun se pramukh kshetro ko prathamikta dene par sehmati hui hai aur kya dono desh vyapar mein sthaniya mudraon ke upyog par bhi vichar kar rahe hain?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]Sir, greetings. I am Neeraj Dubey from Prabhasakshi. My question is: In order to take bilateral trade beyond 20 billion dollars over the next five years, which key sectors have been agreed upon for priority focus? Also, are the two countries considering the use of local currencies in bilateral trade?

Ayanangsha Maitra: Vanakkam Excellency, this is Ayanangsha Maitra. My first question would be, there are new interests beyond the obvious, like beyond the chickens and sugars, like Yerba mate and something like Macadamia nuts. It's a variant of the nuts. If you kindly explain those sort of opportunities. And is there any opportunity for India and Brazil to facilitate a third country's trade and vice versa? Thank you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we had set a target during PM's visit to Brazil for increasing bilateral trade from 15 billion to 20 billion by 2030. But President Lula today mentioned to PM that 20 billion doesn't seem ambitious enough and that we should therefore try and target something higher like 30 billion by 2030.

And he said, with the kind of excitement and interest there is on both sides, he said, "I have brought 11 ministers with me and 300 businessmen." It shows the kind of commitment there is to enhancing India-Brazil trade and investment. So, he said our ambition should be much bigger.

You know, the number of areas identified is in great detail in the joint statement. I would, for example, name energy, the oil and gas sector, space-opportunities to launch Brazilian satellites, work together to build satellites. There is a lot of cooperation possible in the area of bioenergy, biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, green economy, agriculture and livestock, healthcare, and traditional medicine. Yoga is also a subject of great interest in Brazil.

There is a lot of interest in Brazil on some of our DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure) platforms, whether it is linking our payment systems with theirs, or using UPI for agriculture, for education, or for healthcare. There are some of our NGOs, DPI-related NGOs, that are working with Brazilian counterparts to try and develop DPIs that Brazilians are interested in. Pharmaceuticals is another big area, vaccines. Artificial intelligence, again, you know, a very topical subject. President Lula suggested that we try and integrate AI into DPI platforms to try and maximize the utilization of DPI platforms and using the data very effectively to drive policy initiatives.

So, there is a lot of... mining and critical minerals we already spoke about, defense, aircraft. You know, an MoU with Embraer was signed, and President Lula pointed out that they will set up an assembly line or a production line for Embraer to manufacture regional jets in India.

PM also asked for Embraer to set up an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facility. We are also talking about enhancing market access for agricultural products on either side. There were some crops that were named as areas where market access and tariff adjustments were suggested.

But it is still too early. We will get into discussions and negotiations on how exactly to identify areas where we can mutually liberalize trade and open up each other's market. But I would suggest that we wait for details from the Ministry of Commerce.

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

New Delhi
February 21, 2026