India, Brazil Set $20Bn Trade Target Over Five Years; Eye Critical Mineral Partnership

India and Brazil have set a target of achieving $20bn in bilateral trade over the next five years, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement. ​Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a State Visit to Brazil, where he met with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Alvorada Palace.

The ministry further stated that both leaders held talks in restricted and delegation-level formats and discussed all aspects of the multifaceted Strategic Partnership between New Delhi and Brasilia. They reaffirmed cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, defence and security, health and pharmaceuticals, agriculture, digital public infrastructure and UPI, among others.

They also explored avenues for collaboration in the new areas of cooperation, such as critical minerals, new and emerging technologies, AI and supercomputers, digital collaboration and mobility.

"Brazil's rich reserves of critical minerals, including lithium, copper and rare earth elements, aligned with India's need for secure and sustainable resources to drive its clean energy transition and industrial growth. Both leaders welcomed possible opportunities for collaboration in the area of mining, processing and refining of critical minerals," MEA Secretary (East) P Kumaran said in Brasilia on Tuesday, while addressing a press briefing on Modi's State visit to the country.

It is worth mentioning that Brazil is home to the world's second-largest rare earth reserves, estimated at 21mn tonnes. However, it's mine production stands at only 20 as of 2024.

Highlighting the importance of critical minerals for both economic growth and national security—as well as their pivotal role in clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and battery storage—the leaders expressed strong support for enhanced collaboration between public and private players on both sides. They welcomed joint efforts to build resilient and competitive value chains across the entire lifecycle of critical minerals, including exploration, mining, processing, recycling, and refining.

Both leaders welcomed the establishment of a ministerial-level mechanism to discuss trade and commercial matters. They discussed strengthening bilateral trade, including the expansion of the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement. "The leaders set a target to increase bilateral trade to $20bn over the next five years. Taking stock of the ongoing cooperation in the energy sector, the two leaders agreed to explore investment opportunities as there exists immense potential in the hydrocarbon as well as renewable energy sectors in both countries," the MEA said in a statement.

Following the talks, six MoUs in the fields of counter terrorism, exchange of information in the security domain, agricultural research, renewable energy, Intellectual Property Rights and digital cooperation were finalised between the countries.