Brazil is this year’s chair of the BRICS; India assumes its chairmanship for 2026 on January 1. Thus, the steps these two nations are taking to deepen their bilateral economic cooperation and coordination in the global effort to establish a more human world order takes on added significance.
President Lula da Silva’s Special Advisor Celso Amorim, accompanied by a delegation of senior Brazilian government officials and advisors, was in New Delhi last week for the 6th India-Brazil Strategic Dialogue, held Oct. 3. Indian National Security Adviser of India Shri Ajit Doval led India’s team in those meetings.
The agenda of the meeting was broad: “ongoing progress in the Strategic Partnership, including in diverse areas such as defense and security; energy, rare earths and critical minerals; and health & pharmaceuticals. They also discussed cooperation in multilateral fora such as the BRICS, IBSA and the forthcoming COP-30 to be hosted by Brazil in November,” India’s External Affairs Ministry reported.
Amorim also met separately with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, who posted on X that the two had “had a useful exchange on the current global scenario and on opportunities for deepening our strategic cooperation.” The photos accompanying his post made clear these two veteran diplomats know each other well, and their meeting had been “a pleasure” for both.
In July, President Lula had received Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state visit immediately after the BRICS Summit, which was held in Brazil. The two nations’ leaders spoke by phone on August 8, after U.S. President Donald Trump slapped 40-50% tariffs on both countries. President Lula is now scheduled to pay a state visit to India in 2026, reportedly as soon as January.
Next to visit India will be Brazilian Vice President Gerald Alckmin, for a meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM), preparatory to President Lula’s visit, where among other things, President Lula is set to inaugurate an office of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex Brasil). Alckmin will bring with him senior ministers and top industry leaders from defense, aerospace, energy, and critical technologies, with defense cooperation among the topics on the agenda.
