Brazil’s Lula leads major trade delegation to India

NEW DELHI: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday, leading a large delegation for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi including on rare earths and artificial intelligence.

Lula, who is travelling with more than a dozen ministers and a large business delegation that includes top CEOs of Brazilian companies, is also looking to increase trading opportunities with the world’s most populous nation.

“India and Brazil share a close and multifaceted relationship,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, with photographs of Lula given a red carpet welcome from his aeroplane.

India, the world’s most populous country with 1.4 billion people, is on track to become the fourth-largest economy.

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The talks between fellow BRICS members – New Delhi took over this year’s presidency of the bloc from Brasila – are also expected to address global economic uncertainty triggered by tariff policies under US President Donald Trump.

Lula and Modi will hold talks on Saturday, as Brazil pitches itself as a global alternative for rare earths in a market dominated by China.

Brazil’s president will first attend a global artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi on Thursday, where he is expected to seek better regulation to stem AI disinformation.

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Brazil is India’s largest market in Latin America.

Lula’s trip comes after Modi visited Brasilia in July 2025, the first by an Indian premier for nearly six decades.

India’s Adani Group and Brazilian plane maker Embraer signed a deal in January.

Both nations were hit by punishing US tariffs in 2025, when Lula spoke to Modi about the need to “defend multilateralism”, and Modi said that a “partnership between Global South nations benefits everyone.”

Washington pledged to slash those tariffs on Indian goods after a US-India trade deal was announced in early February.

“Both leaders would be reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral relations,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

India and Brazil bilateral trade in 2024 was more than $12 billion. Brazil sees India as an under-tapped market for its products including cotton, seeds, teak, soybean oil, and other minerals.