India, Brazil sign mining pact as Modi targets $20 billion trade

India moved to deepen trade ties with ​Brazil on ⁠Saturday, signing a pact to expand cooperation in mining and ‌minerals as it seeks to ‌meet rising domestic steel demand and support capacity expansion amid a global race for raw materials.

The agreement was signed in the presence of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‌and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in New Delhi earlier this ⁠week for a three-day visit.

Brazil is among the world’s top producers of iron ore and holds large reserves of minerals critical to steelmaking. Closer cooperation is expected to improve India’s access to raw materials and technologies needed to sustain long-term growth in its steel sector, an Indian government statement said.

The cooperation will focus on ​attracting investment in exploration, mining and steel sector infrastructure, the statement said.

India has ‌steelmaking capacity of 218 million metric tons, and companies are expanding output to meet rising domestic demand driven by infrastructure development and industrialisation.

Addressing a meeting with a Brazilian delegation ⁠led by Lula, Modi said their talks had focused on ways to deepen the India-Brazil trade partnership.

“We are committed to taking bilateral trade much beyond $20 billion in the next five years,” ​Modi ‌said.

Bilateral trade between the two countries currently stands at about $15 billion.

“Our nations will ‌also work closely in areas such as technology, innovation, digital public infrastructure, AI, semiconductors and more,” Modi said.

India and Brazil have been strategic partners since ‌2006, with cooperation spanning ‌trade, defence, energy, agriculture, health, critical minerals, ⁠technology and digital infrastructure.

Brazil is India’s largest trading partner in the ‌Latin America and Caribbean region, and the two countries work closely on global issues such as UN reform, climate change and counter-terrorism.

Lula on Thursday ⁠advocated for Brazil and India to conduct trade in their own currencies ​rather than settling transactions in US dollars, but dismissed speculation that the BRICS group of countries, of which both nations are members, would create ⁠a common currency.

India, the world’s most populous nation, is the 10th largest market for Brazilian exports, with bilateral trade topping $15 billion in 2025.

Key Brazilian exports to India include sugar, crude oil, vegetable oils, cotton and iron ore.

Demand for iron ore has been driven by rapid infrastructure expansion and industrial growth in India, which is on track to become the world’s fourth largest economy.

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he was confident that Lula’s talks with Modi “will impart a new momentum to our ties”.

Modi said that “our cooperation in the defence sector is also continuously growing,” hailing a “win-win partnership”.

“When India and Brazil work together, the voice of Global South becomes stronger and more confident.”

Brazilian firms are also expanding in the country, with Embraer and Adani Group announcing plans last month to build aircraft in India.

Lula addressed the AI Impact summit in Delhi on Thursday, calling for a multilateral and inclusive global governance framework for artificial intelligence.

He will travel on to South Korea for meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend a business forum.

The Saturday signed partnership will support efficient preparation of steelmaking inputs, enable technology-led improvements across the steel value chain and strengthen resilience and sustainability of the India-Brazil steel supply chain.

According to Ministry of Steel, it provides an institutional framework for strengthening bilateral cooperation across the steel value chain, with a focus on promoting reliable and sustainable development of key raw materials required for steel production.

The cooperation will focus on attracting investment in exploration, mining, and infrastructure development in steel sector; processing and recycling technologies for minerals; automation and the use of advanced technologies in exploration and mining; use of artificial intelligence in geo-scientific data analysis to enhance exploration processes; and best practices in mineral extraction, processing, and environmental management.

The Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of the Federative Republic of Brazil signed the MoU in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, at Hyderabad House here.

According to an official statement, Brazil is among the world’s leading producers of iron ore and possesses significant reserves of minerals critical to steelmaking, including manganese, nickel and niobium. “Enhanced cooperation with Brazil is expected to improve access to key raw materials and technologies necessary for sustaining long-term growth of India’s steel sector,” it added. India currently has a steelmaking capacity of 218 million tonnes.

Agencies