President Lula’s phone call to Prime Minister Modi

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke with India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, by phone on August 7. The conversation lasted for about an hour, during which President Lula recalled the important outcomes of Prime Minister Modi's State visit to Brazil on July 8.

The two leaders discussed the international economic landscape and the imposition of unilateral tariffs. Brazil and India have been the countries most affected by these measures to date. They reaffirmed the importance of defending multilateralism and addressing current challenges, as well as exploring opportunities for greater integration between their nations.

In this context, they confirmed President Lula's upcoming State visit to India, scheduled for early next year. As a preparatory step, they agreed that Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will travel to India in October to attend the meeting of the Trade Monitoring Mechanism. The delegation will include Brazilian ministers and businesspeople, who will discuss cooperation in trade, defense, energy, critical minerals, health, and digital inclusion.

Furthermore, they reaffirmed the goal of increasing bilateral trade to over USD 20 billion by 2030. In this direction, they agreed to expand the coverage of the MERCOSUR-India agreement. They also exchanged information on their respective virtual payment platforms, Brazil's PIX and India's UPI.

President Lula and Prime Minister Modi also discussed the successful outcome of the BRICS Summit in Brazil and their collaboration for the transition of the bloc's upcoming presidency, which will be handed over to India.