Brazil and India Strengthen Ties

April 15, 2008 Posted by India Briefing Reading Time: 2 minutes

India hopes its trade volume with Brazil will reach US$10 billion in 2010, up from the US$3.1 billion registered in 2007, Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil told Xinhua in Sao Paulo Monday.

Indian expertise in information technology, pharmaceutical products and agriculture equipment can be exchanged for Brazilian know-how in the production of food and infrastructure facilities, sectors that India needs to develop in order to boost bi-lateral trade.

“Both Brazil and India are large and growing economies, with enormous opportunities for further rapid investment and growth. Our natural synergies and economic complementarities can be exploited for mutual benefit,” she told an audience of the Federation of Industries in Sao Paulo. The AFP reported that Brazil is already India’s biggest trading partner in Latin America.

India is looking to Brazil for its large biofuel fields and its plane-making industry as its energy and aviation sector grows.

Officials in Patil’s entourage said the Indian president was to sign three deals with her Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva when they meet in Brasilia on Wednesday, among them an aerospace accord.

Madhur Bajaj, the head of India’s Bajaj Auto company, said that Brazil’s booming demand for new cars was an opportunity for his country.

India‘s knowhow in information technology and high-quality but cheap medical care could also provide investment perspectives for Brazilian business, he said.

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Paulo Skaf, the head of the Sao Paulo industry federation, stressed that “our countries have a big potential for cooperation.” According to the International Monetary Fund, while growth in both countries would feel an impact from the economic slowdown affecting the United States and Europe, both India and Brazil were well-position to come through with their economies intact.

Brazil was expected to see a 4.8 percent expansion in 2008 and 3.7 percent in 2009 after growth in 2007 of 5.4 percent, IMF figures showed.

India was setting a more blistering pace, beaten only by China. India’s economy was expected to grow at 7.9 percent this year and a similar level in 2009, down 9.2 percent respectively in 2007.

Patil was due to travel to Rio de Janeiro later Monday, and on to Brasilia on Tuesday to continue her state visit, which also involved meeting representatives of Brazil’s congress and judiciary.