India and Brazil on Tuesday set a target of nearly doubling the bilateral annual trade to $20 billion in the next five years and inked six agreements to expand cooperation in a range of sectors including energy and agriculture following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The two leaders also deliberated on combating terrorism, with Modi saying both sides were clear that there is no place for double standards on terrorism.
“We have a similar thinking on the fight against terrorism — zero tolerance and zero double standards. We are clear that there is no place for double standards on terrorism,” the prime minister said in his media statement.
“We strongly oppose terrorism and those who support terrorism,” he added.
The two sides inked six agreements, including a pact on combating international terrorism and transnational organised crime and another on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information. They also signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in renewable energy, sharing large-scale solutions for digital transformation, intellectual property, and agricultural research.
Modi travelled to Brasilia on Monday evening after attending the two-day BRICS summit in this seaside Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
“We want India-Brazil relations to be as colourful as carnival, as passionate as football, and as connecting hearts as samba, without long lines at the visa counter! In this spirit,” Modi said.
“We will make efforts to facilitate people-to-people contacts between the two countries, especially tourists, students, sportspersons and businessmen,” he said.
On various geopolitical developments, the prime minister said India-Brazil partnership is an important pillar of stability and balance and that both sides are unanimous that all disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.
Modi said both sides discussed ways to enhance trade.
“In today’s discussions, we talked about strengthening cooperation in every field. We have set a target to take bilateral trade to $20 billion in the coming five years,” he said.
The current annual bilateral trade is around $13 billion. “Our cooperation in the field of energy is constantly growing. Environment and clean energy are the main priorities of both the countries,” the prime minister said.
“The agreement that has been made today to increase cooperation in this area will give new direction and momentum to our green goals,” the PM said.