India, Brazil ink 15 pacts, chart plan to boost ties

New Delhi: Visiting Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi “in a warm, cordial and friendly atmosphere” on Saturday following which both the countries unveiled an ambitious “action plan” to strengthen strategic ties in six “thematic areas” - political and strategic coordination; trade, commerce and investment; science, technology and innovation; defence and security systems; culture and education; and finally, consular issues, social security and legal cooperation.

In a reference to cross-border terrorism which is being seen as a veiled reference to Pakistan without naming it, India and Brazil in a joint statement also “reaffirmed that international terrorism constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and security and emphasised the need for... eradicating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross border terrorism.”

Both the countries also inked 15 pacts including in the fields of bioenergy, oil and natural gas, cyber-security, investment, health, traditional medicine, mineral resources, and animal husbandry and dairy production.

Sources told this newspaper that during the talks, when PM Modi raised the issue of Brazil approaching the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the “support” (subsidies) given by the Indian government to its sugarcane farmers, “both sides agreed to address the issue through bilateral consultations.”  The two sides also “agreed to set a target of $15 billion in bilateral trade by 2022, given the complementarities between the two economies.”

PM Modi and President Bolsonaro agreed that the two countries could collaborate in the field of ethanol production. Given that Brazil is a leader in this field, it will share state of the art technology with India in this sector. The two leaders “recognised agriculture to be a key focus area for bilateral cooperation, important part of both economies.”

“President Bolsonaro and Prime Minister Modi held restricted and delegation-level talks in a warm, cordial and friendly atmosphere and exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the joint statement said.

Welcoming Brazilian President Bolsonaro - who will also be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade on Sunday - PM Modi said ties between both countries were based on common values such as democracy, adding that both countries were "together" as part of various plurilateral fora like Brics and IBSA.