President Lula’s statement at the closing of the Brazil-India Business Forum

I greet the Indian and Brazilian entrepreneurs participating in this Business Forum.

I am deeply optimistic about Brazil–India relations. I am optimistic because we share many similarities, because we have much in common, and because we share the determination to move beyond our condition as developing nations and become fully developed economies.

The opportunities are before us.

The role of Prime Minister Modi and the President of Brazil is to open doors so that entrepreneurs can do what they know best: negotiate, build partnerships, and invest in Brazil and India so that both economies grow together.

That is why I make it a point to participate in business forums during all my international visits. Presidents must understand the importance of bringing business delegations with them so that trade and investment truly materialize.

No other forum has occupied such a central place in my planning.

When I agreed with Prime Minister Modi to visit India in return for his visit to Brazil, I told him it was essential to hold a major business meeting worthy of India’s and Brazil’s aspirations to become leading global economies.

That is why I sent my Vice President, Geraldo Alckmin, last year to lead the first business delegation.

For this State Visit, I am accompanied by what is likely the largest delegation of ministers and entrepreneurs of any of my trips thus far, a demonstration of my commitment to India.

Trade exchanges and investment flows provide a solid foundation for political relations between nations.

Events such as this one stimulate national development and technological innovation. They attract investment, generate opportunity, and create income for working people in both India and Brazil.

The geographical distance between Brazil and India is insignificant when compared to the potential of our partnership.

I had the honor of leading the establishment of our Strategic Partnership in 2006.

Since then, bilateral trade has grown from USD 2.4 billion to USD 15.2 billion in 2025.

It is significant growth, but modest given the scale of our economies.

Can you believe that, in 2006, our trade amounted to just USD 2.4 billion? It was practically nothing. It reflected a time when neither India looked to Brazil nor Brazil to India.

We were trained to look toward the major powers — Europe, the United States, Japan, and, more recently, China. We were not looking up to each other. We could not see each other. Now, we have decided to change that.

The potential for closer political, economic, cultural, scientific, and technological alignment between Brazil and China[1]  is so vast that we may not yet fully grasp its magnitude.

When I visited India in 2005, the country had just reached USD 100 billion in international reserves for the first time.

Brazil, at that time, had no reserves. We owed USD 30 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and were constantly under its monitoring.

After that trip I made to India, I decided that Brazil must have an international reserve. Within a few years, we accumulated USD 370 billion.

In that same year, 2005, Brazil celebrated exporting USD 100 billion for the first time.

Today, our total trade flows reach USD 640 billion. A clear demonstration of the possibilities before us.

Prime Minister Modi and I committed to reaching USD 20 billion in bilateral trade within a few years.

When I visited in 2005, Prime Minister Singh [Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014] and I committed to reaching USD 10 billion within ten years.

I told Prime Minister Modi that USD 20 billion is too modest for economies of our scale. With the amount of Indian businesspeople already in Brazil and the amount of Brazilian businesspeople who already want to invest in India, and at a time when multilateralism faces challenges and unilateral tendencies are gaining ground, India and Brazil must not lament what has not happened. We must make things happen between us.

So I believe (and I told Prime Minister Modi) that instead of aiming for USD 20 billion, we should target USD 30 billion in trade. We simply need to pursue it.

In today’s world, connectivity and trade diversification have become synonymous with resilience in the face of rising protectionism and unilateral trade practices.

Since the beginning of my mandate, MERCOSUR has signed agreements with Singapore, EFTA, and the European Union.

Significantly expanding the MERCOSUR–India Preferential Trade Agreement, in force since 2009, is a priority, with a view toward a future free trade agreement.

Two markets as important as Brazil and India require a more comprehensive and ambitious framework.

Reciprocal interest is growing.

More than 100 Brazilian business missions have visited India over the past three years.

Many entrepreneurs will benefit from the extension of business and tourism visas from five to ten years.

Yesterday, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, APEXBrasil, inaugurated its office in New Delhi to support the private sector in identifying opportunities and closing deals.

The agreement on cooperation in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises signed today will strengthen exchanges in a sector vital for job creation.

In cutting-edge sectors such as information technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and space exploration, opportunities are vast.

The Digital Partnership with India, the first of its kind signed by Brazil, will integrate cooperation in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and technology-based startups.

Both our countries are leaders in digital public infrastructure.

Brazil’s Pix and India Stack demonstrate that technology can be democratized and innovation placed at the service of inclusion.

Addressing climate change is a central priority of my government.

This year, we reduced deforestation in the Amazon by 50 percent compared to 2022.

In 2026, we will reach the lowest deforestation rate in our history.

Brazil is doing its part to ensure a habitable planet for future generations.

We monitor our biomes and use science as a tool for stewardship and sovereignty.

Together with India, we want to be engines of a new development model.

We are transforming the challenges of energy transition and climate change into opportunities.

India is the fastest-growing bioenergy market in the world. Brazil has half a century of experience with ethanol and flex-fuel engines.

Within the framework of the Global Biofuels Alliance, we are building a global market.

Energy and digital transitions will not occur without critical minerals.

Brazil holds at least 26 percent of global reserves of critical minerals, with only 30 percent of its territory prospectively surveyed.

Just as India created its National Critical Minerals Mission, Brazil will establish a National Council linked to the Presidency to safeguard our sovereignty.

We want to attract processing chains to Brazilian territory without exclusionary choices.

The agreement signed today with India moves precisely in that direction.

My friends,

There are also strong synergies in agriculture.

We are the second- and fourth-largest food producers in the world.

Brazil’s zebu cattle herd originated in the early twentieth century with imports of Nelore and Gir cattle from Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi’s home state.

Today, Brazil exports animal genetics to India.

We can cooperate in agricultural value chain integration, technological innovation, sustainable land use, and global food security.

The Health Industrial Complex is another strategic pillar of bilateral cooperation and trade.

India is a major supplier of pharmaceutical inputs to Brazil.

We share a history of joint efforts to ensure broad and affordable access to generic medicines for low-income populations and developing countries.

At this Forum, we celebrate three strategic partnership agreements between Fiocruz and local companies for the joint development of vaccines, medicines, and essential inputs.

Smart hospitals are another field with enormous potential, as seen in the facility visited by Minister Alexandre Padilha in Bangalore.

Brazilian industry is competitive in sectors of high technological content and value added, including aerospace and defense.

India is already the third-largest commercial aviation market in the world and one of the largest global defense markets, with ambitious modernization programs.

In both areas, Brazil stands ready to collaborate.

We do not wish merely to sell.

We wish to buy, invest, and consolidate our presence in India, with technology transfer and workforce training.

The agreements signed by Embraer with the Adani Group and Mahindra will enable commercial and defense aircraft production here in India.

To attract investment, Brazil implemented a historic tax reform.

Today, we offer legal certainty and economic, political, and social stability.

The Growth Acceleration Program [Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento / PAC) and the New Industry Brazil initiative [Iniciativa Nova Indústria Brasil], mobilizing more than USD 50 billion, are open to Indian participation in clean energy, electric mobility, health, aerospace, semiconductors, and digital innovation.

My friends,

Brazil will continue expanding its relations with the world without automatic alignments.

Business has no color, religion, or ideology.

You, business leaders, are central to transforming these opportunities into reality.

To paraphrase Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during her visit to Brazil in 1968, the future does not arrive on its own. We must will it.

Let us get to work.

Good luck!