National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met the Special Advisor to the President of Brazil, Ambassador Celso Luis Nunes Amorim, in New Delhi for the 6th India-Brazil Strategic Dialogue on Friday.
The meeting comes ahead of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s state visit to India in February 2026.
Before that, Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will visit India in October, leading a delegation of ministers and business leaders. His trip will follow the 7th meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism at the Trade Secretary level and another round of discussions between NSA Celso Amorim and Ajit Doval on defence industry collaboration and supply chain security.
“Expanding the defence partnership, strengthening digital public infrastructure cooperation, and widening the health sector collaboration are top priorities for President Lula’s engagement with India,” Brazil’s Ambassador to India, Kenneth da Nobrega, told StratNewsGlobal. “NSA Amorim’s visit will focus on taking the defence partnership to the next level.”
President Lula’s visit comes at a time when India is stepping up its attempts to diversify its trade relationships and strengthen cooperation with Global South partners. With U.S. tariffs pressuring emerging economies, India and Brazil are prioritising bilateral cooperation in areas such as food and energy security, defence manufacturing, critical minerals, and digital infrastructure.
Both nations are turning to bilateral trade to offset losses—a theme Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed with President Lula during their July 9 summit in Brasília. Lula called Modi in early August, days after US President Donald Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on both countries, and later convened a virtual BRICS leaders’ meeting on the global economic outlook, which was attended by Dr Jaishankar.
Brazil is positioning itself as a reliable partner in India’s defence ecosystem at a time when global supply chains face severe disruption. With no significant external threats of its own, Brazil sees an opportunity to establish itself as a dependable supplier of defence hardware and components to India.
Both countries are also working to expand the MERCOSUR-India Preferential Trade Agreement, aiming to widen tariff concessions and simplify market access. Talks in August 2025 gave fresh momentum to the initiative, which both sides view as a way to strengthen resilience against external trade shocks.
Digital cooperation is moving in parallel. India and Brazil have exchanged technical insights into their digital payment platforms, UPI and PIX, with the long-term goal of exploring cross-border compatibility. The effort mirrors broader BRICS ambitions to develop financial infrastructure independent of Western-controlled systems like SWIFT.
Private sector enthusiasm is also on the rise. Over 120 Indian and Brazilian business leaders gathered in Mumbai for the Brazil-India LIDE Forum, signalling investor interest in clean energy, infrastructure, mining, pharmaceuticals, and aviation. São Paulo Governor and LIDE Chairman João Doria remarked, “India represents a strategic market for Brazilian industry. Now is the right time to turn interest into action.”
This strengthening partnership reflects a broader trend within BRICS, where member states are exploring alternative trade and financial mechanisms in response to unilateral actions by major powers. U.S. trade policies under the current administration have pushed the bloc to accelerate discussions on local currency trade, the New Development Bank, and a non-Western financial messaging system.
President Lula’s visit, expected to coincide with India’s Presidency of BRICS, is anticipated to inject new momentum into bilateral ties. With shared priorities in food and energy security, industrial innovation, and technology cooperation, the February summit is seen as an opportunity to convert strategic intent into concrete outcomes.
As one senior diplomat observed, “This is more than a ceremonial trip. It is about reimagining our partnership in a rapidly changing world. Brazil and India have complementary strengths, and now is the time to harness them.”
