India, Brazil hold first joint defense, foreign ministry talks

Officials from the defense and foreign ministries of both India and Brazil held their first joint dialogue in New Delhi this week.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the ‘2+2’ talks spanned key areas of cooperation, including critical minerals, technology, energy, and counter-terrorism.

“Discussions spanned defense, space, energy, critical minerals, tech, counter terrorism, regional, multilateral and other issues of mutual interest,” Jaiswal posted on X (formerly Twitter).

From the Indian side, the meeting was co-chaired by additional secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean region G.V. Srinivas and joint secretary in the defense ministry Vishwesh Negi.

Director Marcelo Camara, ministry of foreign affairs, and Rear Admiral Fernando de Luca Marques de Oliviera of the Brazilian ministry of defense took part in the meeting from the Brazilian side

India is the fifth largest trading partner of Brazil, government data showed.  Major Indian exports to Brazil include processed petroleum products, agro-chemicals,  chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering products, textured filament yarn, and unwrought aluminum.

Brazilian exports to India include crude oil, soya oil, gold (non-monetary), cane sugar, cotton, gum, wood and turpentine oils, chemicals and iron ore, and concentrates, data showed.