India and Brazil on Monday finalised the text of a bilateral investment agreement, and inked pacts to deepen cooperation in fields of cattle genomics and agriculture.At their standalone summit meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Michel Temer called for greater cooperation in areas of ship building, pharmaceuticals, defence production, ethanol production and
oil and gas. India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) also came up for discussion.
Brazil is a member of the 48-member NSG. While it didn’t explicitly oppose India’s bid to become a member of the NSG at the Seoul meeting in June, Brazil’s position is somewhat similar to that of China on the issue. It wants common criteria for countries that are not signatories to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but seek to become NSG members. On Monday, Ministry of External Affairs officials claimed that President Temer indicated Brazil will help India with its efforts to become an NSG member. “We thank Brazil for understanding India's aspiration for membership of the NSG,” Modi said in his statement after the meeting.
The PM said the India-Brazil bilateral investment agreement will provide much needed momentum to increased bilateral business and investment linkages. Modi said he has sought President Temer's support in facilitating greater market access and investment opportunities for Indian products and companies. “We deeply appreciate Brazil's support for India’s actions in combating terrorism,” Modi said.
Brazil also offered to help India in ethanol production, while sought India’s help with manufacture of affordable generic medicines. Six task forces are to be constituted to explore cooperation in sectors such as defence production, ship building, agriculture and food processing.
Earlier in the day, six CEOs each from India and Brazil held discussions on areas where India and Brazil can deepen economic ties. They recommended to the two leaders that India can benefit from Brazil’s huge strength in the ethanol sector.
From the Indian side, the CEOs were – United Phosphorous Limited (UPL) CEO Jai Shroff, Apollo Group Chairman Onkar Kanwar, Suzlon Energy Chairman Tulsi R Tanti, Shree Renuka Sugars Limited Vice Chairman and Managing Director Narendra Murkumbi, ONGC Videsh’s Managing Director Narendra Kumar Verma and Pidilite Industries Limited Executive Director Apurva Parekh.
UPL has presence in Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and other Latin American countries. Suzlon entered the Brazilian market in 2008 and has since created a cumulative installed capacity of 750 MW, primarily wind energy. Others also have presences in Brazil.
From the Brazilian side, companies that were represented included Vale, a Brazilian multinational mining company; WEG, which is one of the largest producers of electrical equipment in the world; bus manufacturer Marcopolo and Brazilian software, IT and consulting MNC Stefanini.
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