 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a bilateral meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva. File image/PTI")
Amid rising global trade tensions following US President Donald Trump’s steep 50% tariffs, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, reaffirming their commitment to deepen the India-Brazil strategic partnership.
“The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in trade, technology, energy, defence, agriculture, health and people-to-people ties,” PM Modi’s office said in a statement.
Separately, in a post on X, PM Modi said, “Had a good conversation with President Lula. Thanked him for making my visit to Brazil memorable and meaningful. We are committed to deepening our Strategic Partnership, including in trade, energy, tech, defence, health and more. A strong, people-centric partnership between Global South nations benefits everyone.”
The two leaders also exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest and agreed to remain in touch.
Earlier, President Lula spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of a broader effort to initiate a collective BRICS response to the US tariffs.
“What President Trump is doing is tacit — he wants to dismantle multilateralism, where agreements are made collectively within institutions, and replace it with unilateralism, where he negotiates one-on-one with other countries,” Lula said.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“What bargaining power does a small Latin American country have against the United States? None.”
The conversation follows Lula’s public remarks earlier this week, where he vowed to respond firmly to Trump’s tariffs and emphasised his intention to personally reach out to key global leaders, including PM Modi.
India and Brazil face the same steep penalty: a 50% US tariff imposed under President Trump’s aggressive trade realignment. India’s hike stems from its continued purchases of Russian oil, while Brazil’s tariff rise is linked to political disputes and reciprocal measures.
“I am not going to call Trump to negotiate anything, because he doesn’t want to talk. But rest assured, Marina, I will call Trump to invite him to the COP, because I want to know what he thinks about the climate issue. I will have the courtesy to call, I will call him, I will call Xi Jinping, I will call Prime Minister Modi, I will call," said Lula.
Lula said he won’t be calling Russian President Putin, but that’s because he cannot travel. “But I will call many presidents,” he added.
With inputs from agencies