Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is on a four-day visit to New Delhi with the largest ever Brazilian delegation, has said that relations between Brazil and India are ready for a decisive expansion. In an exclusive interview with The HinduPresident Lula emphasized that “as the world’s two largest democracies and dynamic economies, India and Brazil cannot remain apart”.
On trade, Mr Lula acknowledged that bilateral commerce, although at a record high in 2025, remains far below its potential of about $15 billion. The visit aims to significantly expand trade flows, with expected agreements in critical minerals – the first of its kind for Brazil – and small and medium enterprises, a major employment generator. Mr Lula also highlighted the Brazil-India Business Forum in New Delhi, which will bring together 600 private sector representatives, arguing that business partnerships will transform political goodwill into “shared prosperity”.
Brazilian leader told India The HinduCentral to Brazil’s long-term economic diversification strategy. Mr Lula called for expanding Mercosur-India ties, saying “the answer to trade wars is more international trade.”
Responding to a question on artificial intelligence, Mr Lula warned against “digital colonialism”. He said, AI should not become the legacy of some countries or billionaires. Brazil and India should support an “emancipatory” AI that reflects the global South, promotes inclusion and is governed multilaterally.
Given India’s BRICS chairmanship in 2026, Mr Lula expressed confidence that New Delhi will pursue reforms in global governance. He described multilateralism as facing unprecedented stress and called for urgent reform of the UN Security Council. He argued that African countries as well as Brazil and India deserve permanent seats to reflect the realities of the 21st century.
At a time of geopolitical change, Brazil and India are natural partners and can turn their long-recognized potential into solid strategic alignment, Mr. Lula said in the interview.
During your visit to New Delhi, what concrete measures and agreements are expected to deepen and diversify trade between India and Brazil?
Bilateral trade between Brazil and India is set to reach its highest level in 2025, but remains well below its real potential. India has 1.4 billion people and Brazil has 215 million people. There is no point in our trade being only 15 billion dollars. That is why significantly increasing our trade flows is one of the main objectives of this visit. To achieve this goal we will sign many agreements. We will sign agreements on critical minerals – the first of its kind to be signed by Brazil – and on small and medium-sized enterprises, a sector that creates millions of jobs. During my visit, I will also participate in the Brazil-India Business Forum with 600 representatives from the private sectors of both countries. Because it is the private sector, through partnerships and joint projects, that will transform our excellent relationship with India into shared prosperity for our societies.
Brazil and India cannot stay apart. The world’s two largest democracies, with exceptionally diverse cultures and dynamic economies, have an obligation to forge much closer relations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I are working towards that goal.
You are traveling with the largest ever Brazilian business delegation to India along with several ministers. What is the importance of India to Brazil’s long-term economic strategy, especially as emerging economies look for new markets in the era of tariffs and trade wars?
I often say that the answer to the crisis of multilateralism is more multilateralism. And the answer to trade wars is more international trade. Diversifying trade partnerships with both emerging and traditional economies is a central part of Brazil’s strategy. In this we have strong convergence with India. This convergence now needs to be translated into concrete results.
We have signed a partnership agreement with the EU in Mercosur. Less than two weeks later, India did the same. Now we need to make the expansion of the MERCOSUR-India trade agreement a reality. We have complementary interests in areas such as biofuels, artificial intelligence, science and technology, defence, space industry and health. We both favor fair, multilateral, open and rules-based trade based on the World Trade Organization (WTO). The future of Brazil and India are linked.
You participated in the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. How can Brazil and India lead broader cooperation among Global South countries in the field of AI, ensuring equal access to technology, joint development, and rules that serve their interests?
We must avoid a new form of colonialism: digital colonialism. The development of artificial intelligence is irreversible, but it cannot become the privilege of a few countries, nor become a tool of manipulation in the hands of billionaires. Brazil and India are interested in an emancipatory artificial intelligence – one that reflects the face of the global South, strengthens cultural diversity, and serves as a tool for peace, not war.
We need every chip, every algorithm to drive social inclusion. To achieve this, we need intergovernmental governance of artificial intelligence. It is imperative that the United Nations be at the center of this debate, and that all states have a seat at the table. Our countries are positioned to be at the forefront of this agenda, as demonstrated by the AI Impact Summit organized by the Government of India.
Brazil has stressed the importance of India’s upcoming BRICS chairmanship in 2026. What are your expectations regarding India’s leadership in this grouping, especially with regard to the reform of global governance institutions?
Brazil handed over the chairmanship of BRICS to India in 2026. I am confident that India’s Chairmanship will take forward Brazil’s important initiatives for cooperation within the bloc in areas such as health and the fight against socially determined diseases, climate change and artificial intelligence.
As far as global governance is concerned, we are witnessing an unprecedented collapse of multilateralism. The inaction of the United Nations and its Security Council has contributed to an increase in armed conflicts around the world to a level not seen since the end of World War II.
BRICS has a very important role in this process. The group is a defender of multilateralism and its legitimacy in renewed governance debates in which the voices of the Global South matter.
Brazil and India agree that global governance institutions must reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century and effectively promote peace. We are a country that has traditionally advocated reform of the Council to make it more legitimate, representative, effective and democratic. At this stage of the 21st century, there is no point in not including India, Brazil and African countries as permanent members in the Security Council.
We fully support India’s BRICS Chairmanship in pursuing these objectives.
The long pending MERCOSUR-India trade agreement is expected to be discussed during your visit. Do you see this visit as a defining moment for taking this framework forward, especially in light of the recent Mercosur-EU agreement and changing global trade patterns?
When I take over as President of Brazil in early 2023, I commit to opening new markets and building trade partnerships around the world. In three years, we have opened more than 500 markets and signed important trade agreements with, through Mercosur, the European Union (EU), EFTA and Singapore.
These agreements are multilateralism’s response to the logic of protectionism and trade wars that impoverish countries and increase inequality. Prime Minister Modi shares our views on the importance of trade agreements.
In this spirit, expanding the MERCOSUR-India Agreement, in force since 2009, is one of the priorities of my visit. In its current form, the agreement is very limited, as it covers only a small percentage of products. We will expand and reduce the barriers that still hinder our business. In doing so, we will increase our trade flows, which are well below the size of our countries and economies.
At a time when multilateralism is under pressure and major powers are redefining trade and security rules, how do you see Brazil and India working together to shape a more balanced, rules-based global order that reflects the interests of the Global South?
Brazil and India have long maintained close coordination in international forums. At the World Health Organization (WHO), we advocate for health sovereignty and access to medicines, vaccines and essential inputs for public health. At the WTO, we are in favor of rules-based trade.
A new global order requires reform of international institutions and strengthening of multilateralism and diplomacy. The current architecture was designed in 1945 and does not reflect today’s world. But change is needed in many other institutions also. For example, the World Bank needs reform to increase the participation of developing countries in its leadership. The WTO must also regain its role in regulating international trade.
Brazil and India are particularly well positioned to drive these changes. As members of the G20, BRICS and IBSA, we work clearly in defense of multilateralism. We are natural partners in tackling some of the greatest challenges of our time, namely eradicating hunger and poverty and tackling climate change. We have two of the ten largest economies and two of the largest democracies in the world. We uphold universal diplomatic traditions. The “strategic diversification” pursued by India coincides with the universalism of Brazil’s foreign policy. We are a country that connects with everyone, without automatic alignment. We are the bridge between the Global North and the Global South and between the West and the East. We want to continue expanding our relationships with the world. It has long been said that it is natural for Brazil and India to work together. For all these reasons, the time has come to turn this possibility into reality.
