Overview
- President Lula’s Feb 18–22 visit to New Delhi concluded with nine agreements, including a rare earths and critical minerals MoU, a mining cooperation pact, and a Joint Declaration on a Digital Partnership.
- Both governments signaled plans to build a full critical-minerals value chain—from exploration to refining—to diversify supply and reduce India’s reliance on Chinese inputs.
- Trade crossed $15 billion in 2025 and the two sides set a $30 billion goal by 2030, paired with steps to cut non-tariff barriers, expand the India–MERCOSUR PTA, and introduce electronic certificates of origin.
- Defence and health ties widened through commitments on Scorpene-class submarine maintenance, broader defence industrial collaboration, and regulatory coordination between drug authorities to ease approvals and enable technology transfer.
- Commentary on the new framework stresses execution, urging sustained co-investment and institutional follow-through in digital infrastructure, AI governance, energy transition, and strategic minerals to translate diplomacy into delivery.