New Delhi – India and Brazil signed a landmark agreement Saturday to boost mining and minerals cooperation, aiming to secure raw materials for India’s expanding steel industry as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The deal, inked during Lula’s three-day visit, targets investments in exploration, mining, and steel infrastructure, leveraging Brazil’s vast iron ore reserves and expertise to meet India’s surging demand from infrastructure and industrialization. India boasts 218 million metric tons of steel capacity, with firms ramping up output; the pact promises better access to critical inputs and technologies for sustained growth.
Modi told the Brazilian delegation bilateral trade, currently $15 billion, should exceed $20 billion in five years, while expanding ties in technology, AI, semiconductors, digital infrastructure, defense, energy, agriculture, and health. Brazil remains India’s top Latin American trade partner since their 2006 strategic partnership, collaborating on UN reform, climate, and counter-terrorism; Lula pushed local-currency trade but ruled out a BRICS common currency.