Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday announced the inauguration of the first office of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) in New Delhi.
“This agency works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and to attract foreign investments to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy,” President Lula said in a post on X.
“Brazil and India are two of the largest nations of the Global South. We had a trade flow of US$ 15.2 billion in 2025, with plenty of room for growth. I was accompanied by government ministers and the president of Apex, Jorge Viana,” he stated.
President Lula arrived in India on a high-profile state visit this week, bringing with him the largest-ever Brazilian business delegation to travel abroad, underscoring trade and economic cooperation as the central pillar of bilateral engagement.
Lula is accompanied by more than 260 Brazilian companies, around 14 cabinet ministers and several top chief executives, as India and Brazil seek to expand commercial ties amid shifting global trade dynamics triggered by tariff actions taken by the United States under President Donald Trump.
The visit coincides with Lula’s participation in the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where he addressed issues related to technology, digital public infrastructure and the role of artificial intelligence in inclusive growth. The Brazilian leader attended the summit on Wednesday, marking technology cooperation as a new and growing dimension of India-Brazil relations.
Lula is scheduled to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 21. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders will review the “entire gamut of bilateral relations,” with discussions expected to cover trade, investment, energy, defence cooperation, digital technologies and people-to-people links.
“The leaders will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in multilateral fora, reformed multilateralism, global governance and issues concerning the Global South,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Trade and economic engagement have emerged as the driving force of Lula’s visit, particularly in the context of protectionist measures adopted by Washington in recent years. Brazilian officials see India as a key partner for diversifying markets and strengthening South-South cooperation.
The strength of the delegation reflects Brasilia’s push to deepen commercial ties with New Delhi at a time when global supply chains are being reconfigured.
The India-Brazil relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2006, rooted in shared democratic values and a common vision of inclusive development.
Over the years, both countries have worked closely in plurilateral and multilateral forums such as BRICS, IBSA, the G20, the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, and UNESCO
–IANS
