India, Brazil Seal Mining Pact as Modi Targets $20 Billion in Trade

India moved to strengthen its commercial and strategic partnership with Brazil on Saturday, signing a new agreement to expand cooperation in mining and critical minerals, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi set an ambitious target of lifting bilateral trade to more than $20 billion within five years.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is on a three-day official visit to New Delhi. The pact underscores India’s efforts to secure stable supplies of raw materials amid rising domestic demand for steel and intensifying global competition for critical resources.

Brazil ranks among the world’s largest producers of iron ore and holds vast reserves of minerals essential to steelmaking and advanced manufacturing. In a statement, the Indian government said enhanced cooperation would improve India’s access to raw materials and technologies needed to support long-term growth in its steel sector.

India’s crude steel production capacity currently stands at 218 million metric tons, with companies expanding output to meet surging domestic demand fueled by infrastructure projects and accelerating industrialization.

The agreement will focus on attracting investment across exploration, mining and steel-sector infrastructure, positioning Brazil as a key supplier in India’s supply chain diversification strategy.

During talks with Lula and a senior Brazilian delegation, Modi said discussions centered on strengthening the trade partnership across multiple sectors.

“We are committed to increasing bilateral trade to over $20 billion within the next five years,” Modi said. Current trade between the two countries stands at approximately $15 billion.

Beyond mining and steel, both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in technology and innovation, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

India and Brazil have maintained a strategic partnership since 2006, spanning trade, defense, energy, agriculture, healthcare, critical minerals and digital infrastructure.

Brazil is India’s largest trading partner in Latin America and the Caribbean. The two countries also coordinate on global issues including United Nations reform, climate change and counterterrorism.

Earlier this week, Lula called for expanding bilateral trade settlements in local currencies instead of the US dollar, while ruling out the creation of a common currency among members of BRICS, the economic grouping to which both nations belong.