As Brazil gears up for its annual Carnival celebrations this weekend, a period when much of the country slows down, intense diplomatic preparations are underway in Brasília for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s upcoming state visit to India. Accompanying him will be a massive business delegation of 260 companies and 14 cabinet ministers, making it the largest Brazilian delegation ever to travel to India.
The high-profile visit, scheduled from February 18 to 22, comes at a crucial moment in global geopolitics and reflects the deepening engagement between the two countries over recent years. It may also represent President Lula’s final major overseas commitment before Brazil enters campaign mode ahead of its presidential elections in October. Lula’s trip follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral meeting with the Brazilian leader in Brasília in July 2025, where both sides discussed expanding trade and strategic cooperation. The Brazilian government is placing exceptional importance on the New Delhi visit, seeing it as an opportunity to elevate the partnership across economic, technological, and geopolitical domains.
Summit diplomacy and focus on technology cooperation
President Lula’s visit, his sixth to India, underscores growing alignment between the two democracies on global governance, innovation, and South–South cooperation. During the five-day trip, Lula will attend the second edition of the AI Impact Summit on February 19–20, highlighting the shared emphasis on emerging technologies and inclusive digital development.
A formal bilateral summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Lula is scheduled for February 21 in New Delhi. The two leaders are expected to conduct a comprehensive review of bilateral relations while also exchanging views on regional and global developments.
President Lula will also meet India’s president Droupadi Murmu, who will host a state banquet in his honour. Senior Indian leaders, including Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are slated to call on the visiting dignitary, underlining the significance New Delhi attaches to the visit.
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the Modi–Lula talks will span the “entire gamut” of bilateral cooperation, covering trade and investment, defence, energy, agriculture, health, science and technology, and innovation. Global issues such as reform of multilateral institutions, global governance, cooperation in international forums, and challenges confronting the Global South are also expected to feature prominently. Prime Minister Modi will host a luncheon in President Lula’s honour following their formal discussions.
Economic push anchored by 260 firms and 14 Ministers
A defining feature of the visit is its strong economic and commercial orientation. Alongside President Lula will be 14 Brazilian ministers and a large delegation of 260 leading companies, reflecting Brazil’s intent to significantly scale up engagement with India.
The visiting ministers are expected to hold sector-specific meetings with their Indian counterparts, while Brazilian CEOs will participate in a major business forum aimed at expanding trade, attracting investment, and fostering industrial partnerships.
The trip builds on intensified high-level exchanges between the two countries. President Lula last visited India for the G20 Summit in September 2023, while Prime Minister Modi travelled to Brasília in July 2025, the first state visit by an Indian prime minister to Brazil in 57 years. The two leaders also met on the margins of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November 2025, underscoring the regular rhythm of engagement. India and Brazil have maintained a strategic partnership since 2006, grounded in shared democratic values, people-to-people connections, and aligned positions on major international issues, including UN reform, climate change, and counter-terrorism. Cooperation has broadened in recent years to encompass digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, space collaboration, and innovation-driven sectors.
Brazil is currently India’s largest trading partner in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Officials on both sides see considerable untapped potential in renewable energy, critical minerals, rare earths, defence manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. Indian and Brazilian officials believe President Lula’s visit will help shape a forward-looking roadmap for the partnership while strengthening cooperation at bilateral, regional, and global levels. With both countries increasingly positioning themselves as influential voices of the Global South, the visit is expected to reinforce India–Brazil collaboration amid shifting geopolitical and economic alignments.
