India–Brazil Bilateral Summit: PM Modi and President Lula to push trade, defence and tech cooperation

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a high-level meeting on February 22 with visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, focusing on strengthening multifaceted cooperation between India and Brazil across trade, critical minerals, defence, energy and digital technology. The talks will take place in New Delhi as President Lula participates in the AI Impact Summit hosted by India.

Officials from both governments say the agenda reflects the growing depth and breadth of India-Brazil relations, which have been elevated to a Strategic Partnership since 2006. This bilateral relationship has expanded steadily through sustained high-level engagement, including multiple meetings in recent years at summits, international fora, and telephonic conversations on pressing global issues such as Venezuela after the US government’s capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Saturday’s dialogue will aim to further align the two countries’ economic and strategic priorities. Talks are expected to cover trade barriers, investment flows, defence cooperation frameworks, energy collaboration, digital public infrastructure and technology partnerships, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence and other emerging sectors of cooperation. President Lula’s visit comes amid efforts by both nations to enhance their roles as influential voices for the Global South in an evolving global order. In addition to the bilateral meeting, Lula is scheduled to meet India’s President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his stay. He will also pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi as part of the ceremonial aspects of the state visit.

India and Brazil have maintained consistent dialogue that Narendra Modi and Lula held a telephone conversation earlier this year on January 22 focusing on geopolitical matters, and the two leaders have interacted on multiple international platforms including the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024. Last year’s State Visit by Prime Minister Modi to Brasilia (July 7–8, 2025), only the second ever bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister after a 57-year gap, marked a significant milestone in the bilateral agenda.

Trade, defence and institutional cooperation on the agenda

One of the marquee expected outcomes of this meeting is the signing of a pivotal industrial agreement, a pact between Brazil’s Embraer and Adani Defense & Aerospace for the construction of an E175 aircraft final assembly line in India. This deal is poised to add momentum to India’s aerospace manufacturing base under the “Make in India” initiative and foster deeper industrial linkages between the two countries.

Bilateral trade has shown strong growth, reaching USD 15.21 billion in calendar year 2025, marking an increase of over 25% compared to previous periods, with Indian exports to Brazil valued at USD 8.35 billion and imports from Brazil at USD 6.85 billion. Total Indian investment in Brazil is estimated to exceed USD 15 billion. During the visit of the Vice-President of Brazil in October 2025, both sides issued a joint declaration to launch negotiations aimed at substantially expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). Progress on these negotiations will be reviewed during the visit.

During his July 2025 state visit to Brasilia, both leaders agreed to establish a Review Mechanism at the Trade Minister’s level and announced an ambitious bilateral trade target of USD 20 billion by 2030. India and Brazil also sustain a wide range of institutional mechanisms to coordinate their strategic cooperation, including the Joint Commission Meeting (Foreign Minister level), Strategic Dialogue (NSA level), Foreign Office Consultations, Trade Monitoring Mechanism, Economic and Financial Dialogue, Dialogue on Consular and Mobility Issues, Joint Defence Committee, Joint Committee on Science & Technology and the India-Brazil Business Leaders Forum.

Defence cooperation, rooted in an agreement signed in 2003 and ratified in 2006 that established the Joint Defence Committee, has steadily grown in recent years. This visit is expected to give further impetus to defence engagements, including expanded joint exercises, logistics cooperation and possible technology transfers.
In sum, President Lula’s state visit signals a renewed phase in India-Brazil cooperation, with a comprehensive agenda that spans economic, strategic, technological and people-to-people ties.