Bilateral Relations

Brazil and India established diplomatic relations in 1948, soon after Indian Independence (1947). Political contacts by high-level authorities have increased since the 2000s, stimulating the identification of cooperation opportunities and motivating the establishment of a Strategic Partnership in 2006.

Brazil and India are democratic countries, with vast territories and large populations. The similarities between the two countries and the intensity of their relationship contribute to their coordination in interregional mechanisms and plurilateral fora, such as G20, BRICS, India-Brasil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA), G4, on the reform of the United Nations Security Council (comprised of Germany, Brazil, India and Japan), and BASIC on climate change (comprised of Brazil, South Africa, India and China).

The main mechanism for coordinating bilateral relations is the Joint Committee on Political, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (‘Joint Committee’, at the level of ministers of foreign affairs, which have already held seven meetings). There are also thematic bilateral  committees and working groups in the fields of  defense, science and technology, energy and commerce.

In January 2020, on the occasion of the State visit of President Jair Bolsonaro to India, the Action Plan to Strengthen the Strategic Partnership between Brazil and India was adopted, and 15 bilateral agreements were signed in a number of areas, including the Cooperation and Investment Facilitation Agreement, the Social Security Agreement, and the memoranda of understanding on Cooperation in Bioenergy and on Cooperation in Health and Medicine.

Trade between Brazil and India reached a historic high in 2021, totaling $7.02 billion (a 63.5 percent increase compared to 2020), with Brazilian exports Worth $4.8 billion and imports from India valued at $6.7 billion. In 2021, India became the world’s 5th largest trading partner of Brazil (2nd in Asia), and the 5th largest source of Brazilian imports and the 13th largest destination of Brazilian exports.   The Preferential Trade Agreement between MERCOSUR and India, in effect since 2009, sets forth margins of preference of 10%, 20% and 100% for 450 tariff lines on each side. During the Brazilian pro tempore presidency of MERCOSUR in 2019, negotiations were resumed with a view to significantly expanding  the Agreement. The theme is still under consideration by the parties.

Among Indian investments in our country, those in power transmission, pesticides and heavy vehicle manufacturing stand out. Brazilian investments in India include those in the electric motors, ATM terminals  and heavy vehicle components sectors.

Chronology of bilateral relations 

2022 – Phone call between the ministers of foreign affairs (January); the Special Secretary for Strategic Affairs, Flávio Augusto Viana Rocha, visits India (March); the minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, visits India (April); the minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying of India, Parshottam Rupala, visits India (May)

2021 – Brazil purchases 4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses produced by India (January and February); the minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes, visit India on the occasion of the launching of the Brazilian satellite Amazônia-1(Februray and March)

2020 – President Jair Bolsonaro pays a State visit to India (January) [Joint communiqué] [Documents adopted] [Action plan]; videoconference between the ministers of Foreign Affairs

2019 – Bilateral meeting between President Jair Bolsonaro and the Prime Minister of India on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka (June);  bilateral meeting between the ministers of Foreign Affairs on the sidelines of the opening of the 74th United Nations General Assembly (September); visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi  to Brazil on the occasion of the Eleventh BRICS Summit

2018 – Second Meeting of the Brazil-India Joint Commission on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (Brasília)

2017 – Meeting of President Michel Temer with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (on the sidelines of the 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen)

2016 – Visits of President Michel Temer; Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Blairo Maggi; and Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services Marcos Pereira to India

2015 – Seventh Joint Commission Meeting (New Delhi); Fourth Meeting of the Brazil-India Strategic Dialogue; First Brazil-India Political Consultations Meeting; Minister of Agriculture Kátia Abreu visits India

2014 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Brazil on the occasion of the Sixth BRICS Summit

2013 – Sixth Joint Commission Meeting (Brasília)

2012 –President Dilma Rousseff visits India; First Meeting of the Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation; Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Brazil (Rio + 20)

2011 – Fifth Joint Committee Meeting (New Delhi); Third Meeting of the Brazil-India Strategic Dialogue (New Delhi)

2010 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits  Brazil; Second Meeting of the Brazil-India Strategic Dialogue (Brasília)

2009 – Fourth Meeting of the Joint Commission (Brasília). Creation of the Brazilian military attaché office in New Delhi. The Preferential Trade Agreement between Mercosur and India enters into force

2008 –President Pratibha Patil visits Brazil; creation of the Brazil-India Trade Monitoring Mechanism

2007 –President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visits India. Third Meeting of the Joint Commission (New Delhi); First Meeting of the Brazil-India Strategic Dialogue (New Delhi)

2006 – Establishment of the Brazil-India Strategic Partnership; visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Brazil; Second Meeting of the Joint Commission (Brasilia)

2004 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits India

2003 – First Joint Committee Meeting (New Delhi)

2002 – Establishment of the Joint Commission on Political, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation

1998 –President K.R. Narayanan visits Brazil

1996 –President Fernando Henrique Cardoso visits India

1992 – Prime Minister Narasimha Rao visits Brazil (Rio-92)

1968 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visits Brazil

1954 – Vice President S. Radhakrishnan visits Brazil

1948 – Establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and India