India-Brazil Partnership Deepens Ahead of G20 Summit: Trade, Energy, Defense & Space Cooperation Increasing
India and Brazil are slowly taking their strategic partnership to new heights. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed to the G20 summit in Brazil and both the largest democracies in the Global South believe that their bilateral ties have flourished in recent times, gaining meaningful progress on all the right tracks-be it trade, energy, defense, or space cooperation.
Bilateral Trade and Energy Cooperation
India-Brazil trade has done extremely well at USD 9.7 billion in exports during January to October 2024. This large amount of trade has significant linkage with Brazil's critical crude oil exports, which are important for India's energy security. Brazilian crude oil exports to India during calendar year 2024 were nearly USD 1 billion. This goes along well with the energy engagements of India with Brazil, where Indian PSUs like ONGC Videsh have invested over USD 5 billion in Brazil's oil sector.
The two countries are also partnering closely in the renewable energy sector. Ethanol production is an area where Brazil is an undisputed leader, which India supports as it aims at a 20% ethanol blending in fuel by 2025. Both nations signed an MoU on Bioenergy Cooperation in the year 2020, thereby expanding cooperation in the field of sustainable energy.
Lithium, Agriculture, Food Security
Both the countries are demonstrating an interest in collaborating in vast lithium reserves of Brazil, one of the emerging areas for their further cooperation in this crucial sector. In their talks on trade, lithium, key material for electric vehicle batteries, is increasingly becoming one of the major talking points. Agricultural trade between them also is going fine with cotton export from India and pulses and other agricultural products from Brazil. India's National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) also acquired Brazilian cattle semen, further consolidating agricultural cooperation.
Defense, Security, and Space Cooperation
India and Brazil's defense cooperation has been moving steadily, especially after the 2003 defense agreement. At the highest level, military exchanges between the two were made possible. Today, Indian defense companies like MKU are providing equipment to Brazil. Cooperation is also good in space, as with the Amazonia-1 satellite of 2021, deforestation is monitored utilizing advanced space technology from India. The two nations are looking at new satellites under the G20 Satellite Mission that would be focused on climate observation.
India-MERCOSUR Trade Agreement
India and Brazil are also exploring avenues for expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). This expanded PTA will unlock new trade opportunities and reduce market access barriers for India, Brazil, and other MERCOSUR members. In conclusion, regional economic ties will boom as a result.
But with the visit of PM Modi to Brazil now to become soon, it is now in the budding stage where there is expansion of India and Brazil's partnership across multiple strategic sectors, including growing ties of collaboration in trade, energy, defense, and space. In a bilateral relationship that has much potential for growth, especially concerning these two global powers, the next G20 summit will yet be another turning point for cooperation for India-Brazil.
