India, Brazil have huge potential to grow trade: Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva
NEW DELHI: India and Brazil have a strong potential to substantially boost bilateral trade from the current $15 billion, the two sides said Friday, even as they continue efforts to expand a preferential trade agreement (PTA).
"I'm very optimistic about India-Brazil relations as we have a lot of similarities," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva said, adding that the PTA between India and Mercosur since 2009 needs a more ambitious framework. "The potential of growth is huge." Lula was speaking at a meeting of the India-Brazil Economic Forum in the national capital.
Mercosur is a trading bloc in Latin America, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The India-Mercosur PTA came into effect on June 1, 2009. This agreement however has limited coverage and contains only 450 tariff lines or products.
Lula highlighted the rapid growth in economic ties between the two countries and the untapped potential. In 2006, bilateral trade was only about $200 million, which rose to $2.4 billion a few years later, and reached $15 billion last year. "I have with me possibly the biggest delegation of ministers, businesspeople of all the different trips that I have taken up until now, and this shows the commitment that I have with India," said Lula.
At the same event, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal called for significantly enhancing India-Brazil trade beyond the current $15 billion, besides forging deeper ties in defence, renewables, pharma, and emerging technologies.
"India and Brazil are natural partners," said Goyal. "Brazil is India's largest trading partner in Latin America and the Caribbean region...our bilateral trade, even though it has grown by 25% last year at $15 billion, is truly suboptimal. We have to be significantly more ambitious."
Goyal highlighted that India attracted a record nearly $80 billion in foreign direct investment in FY25.
"That is a lot of growth, but it is still not much if we take into consideration Brazil's and India's size," said Lula, adding both countries are now looking beyond powerhouses like Europe, the US, Japan, and China. He said there is a potential to double bilateral trade to $30 billion and that Brazil is looking at increasing its exports to and imports from India.
"I'm very optimistic about India-Brazil relations as we have a lot of similarities," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva said, adding that the PTA between India and Mercosur since 2009 needs a more ambitious framework. "The potential of growth is huge." Lula was speaking at a meeting of the India-Brazil Economic Forum in the national capital.
Mercosur is a trading bloc in Latin America, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The India-Mercosur PTA came into effect on June 1, 2009. This agreement however has limited coverage and contains only 450 tariff lines or products.
Lula highlighted the rapid growth in economic ties between the two countries and the untapped potential. In 2006, bilateral trade was only about $200 million, which rose to $2.4 billion a few years later, and reached $15 billion last year. "I have with me possibly the biggest delegation of ministers, businesspeople of all the different trips that I have taken up until now, and this shows the commitment that I have with India," said Lula.
At the same event, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal called for significantly enhancing India-Brazil trade beyond the current $15 billion, besides forging deeper ties in defence, renewables, pharma, and emerging technologies.
"India and Brazil are natural partners," said Goyal. "Brazil is India's largest trading partner in Latin America and the Caribbean region...our bilateral trade, even though it has grown by 25% last year at $15 billion, is truly suboptimal. We have to be significantly more ambitious."
Goyal highlighted that India attracted a record nearly $80 billion in foreign direct investment in FY25.
"That is a lot of growth, but it is still not much if we take into consideration Brazil's and India's size," said Lula, adding both countries are now looking beyond powerhouses like Europe, the US, Japan, and China. He said there is a potential to double bilateral trade to $30 billion and that Brazil is looking at increasing its exports to and imports from India.
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