Strategic Convergence for Mutual Benefit, Why the India-Brazil Partnership Matters
In the glare of high-profile trade deals with the United States and the European Union, it is easy to miss a relatively new but potentially transformative strategic partnership: the one between India and Brazil. Though Brazil was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic ties with independent India, it took more than fifty years for the relationship to realise its full potential.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s sixth visit to India, which begins today, marks another step change in this evolving relationship. The partnership is emblematic of both countries’ changing economic fortunes and their approach to the world. As middle powers seeking a larger role on the global stage, India and Brazil are discovering that they are not competitors but complements—two nations whose strengths align in ways that benefit both.
Middle Powers with Global Ambitions
At first glance, India and Brazil might appear as competitors. Both are large, democratic, developing countries with significant populations and growing economies. Both aspire to permanent seats on a reformed United Nations Security Council. Both seek greater influence in global institutions that were designed in an era when they were marginal players.
But a closer assessment reveals that India and Brazil are, in fact, complementary powers in a world seeking alternatives to both old and emerging hegemons. Their strengths do not overlap in ways that create conflict; they align in ways that create synergy.
India brings to the table its prowess in information technology, pharmaceuticals, and services. Brazil offers its agricultural abundance, expertise in renewable energy (particularly biofuels), and deep engagement with Latin America and Africa. Together, they represent a formidable combination of capabilities and geographies.
The Substance of Partnership
The proposed agreements on the table during Lula’s visit underpin this complementarity. Pharma cooperation leverages India’s strength as the “pharmacy of the world” with Brazil’s need for affordable medicines and its own growing pharmaceutical sector. Critical minerals—essential for the energy transition—are an area where both countries have interests in securing supply chains and developing processing capacity.
Civil aviation opens opportunities for connectivity between two continents that are surprisingly disconnected. Direct flights between Delhi and São Paulo would not just facilitate business and tourism; they would symbolically bring two distant regions closer together.
Expansion of trade and investment is a natural goal. Current bilateral trade, while growing, remains far below potential. India and Brazil are both large economies with diverse needs. There is room for much greater exchange of goods, services, and capital.
Easing visa systems would remove a practical barrier to closer ties. When businesspeople, students, and tourists can move more freely, the relationship deepens organically. People-to-people connections are the foundation on which all other partnerships are built.
Multilateral Partners
India and Brazil are fierce advocates of multilateralism. Both have been strong voices for reform of the United Nations, arguing that institutions created in 1945 no longer reflect the realities of the 21st century. They work closely within the developing country bloc G77 plus China, and as founding members of BRICS and the advanced developing countries quartet known as BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China).
This shared commitment to multilateralism is not just rhetorical. It reflects a common understanding that in a world of immense geopolitical churning, smaller and middle powers need institutions and rules to protect their interests. When the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must, a rules-based order is the only protection for countries that are not great powers.
The G20 and BRICS Synergy
More recently, there have been greater opportunities for partnership, with Brazil taking over from India as G20 president and vice versa for BRICS. This rotation of leadership positions creates opportunities for developing synergies and convergences in approaching critical issues.
The G20 is where the world’s major economies coordinate on financial and economic matters. BRICS brings together major emerging economies to advocate for their shared interests. Having India and Brazil in leadership positions in consecutive years allows them to shape agendas, build consensus, and advance priorities that matter to the Global South.
This is not just about procedural coordination; it is about substantive alignment. On issues ranging from debt restructuring to climate finance to digital governance, India and Brazil share perspectives that differ from those of the traditional powers. By working together, they can amplify their voices and increase their influence.
Beyond Bilateralism
The India-Brazil partnership is not just about the bilateral relationship. It is about what the two countries represent together: an alternative pole in a multipolar world. Not an alternative in the sense of a rival bloc, but an alternative in the sense of different perspectives, different priorities, and different approaches to global challenges.
In a world where the United States and China are the dominant players, middle powers risk being squeezed. They can align with one or the other, or they can try to carve out independent space. India and Brazil, by working together, are demonstrating that there is a third way—not a non-aligned movement of the old sort, but a pragmatic, issue-based cooperation that preserves strategic autonomy while advancing national interests.
The Long View
It took more than fifty years for India and Brazil to recognise the potential in their relationship. That delay is a reminder that international partnerships are not inevitable; they are constructed through deliberate effort and sustained engagement.
The evolving relationship is emblematic of both countries’ changing economic fortunes and approach to the world. As India rises and Brazil re-emerges after a period of domestic turbulence, they are rediscovering each other. President Lula’s sixth visit to India is not just a diplomatic ritual; it is a statement of intent.
Conclusion: A Partnership Whose Time Has Come
It is now for these two complementary middle powers to enhance their engagement, stepping up the partnership that could, in time, add another dimension to global trade and engagement. The foundations are solid: shared values, complementary strengths, convergent interests, and a common vision of a more multipolar and rules-based world.
The agreements on the table during Lula’s visit are important, but they are means, not ends. The end is a relationship that helps both countries achieve their economic and development goals while amplifying their voice on the global stage. That is a goal worth pursuing, and one whose time has come.
Q&A: Unpacking the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership
Q1: Why are India and Brazil described as “complementary powers” rather than competitors?
At first glance, both are large, democratic, developing countries with global ambitions, which might suggest competition. However, their strengths align rather than overlap. India excels in IT, pharmaceuticals, and services; Brazil in agriculture, biofuels, and regional influence in Latin America and Africa. They are both middle powers seeking greater global voice, but in a world seeking alternatives to established hegemons, their distinct capabilities and geographies make them natural partners rather than rivals.
Q2: What specific areas of cooperation are being pursued during President Lula’s visit?
The proposed agreements cover several key areas: pharmaceuticals, leveraging India’s strength as the “pharmacy of the world”; critical minerals essential for the energy transition; civil aviation, potentially including direct flights between Delhi and São Paulo; expansion of trade and investment to realise untapped potential; and easing visa systems to facilitate business, tourism, and people-to-people connections. Each area builds on the complementary strengths of the two countries.
Q3: How do India and Brazil cooperate in multilateral forums?
Both are fierce advocates of multilateralism and UN reform. They work closely within the G77 plus China, and are founding members of BRICS and BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China). With Brazil taking over from India as G20 president and vice versa for BRICS, they have opportunities to develop synergies in approaching critical issues. This rotation of leadership allows them to shape agendas and advance priorities important to the Global South.
Q4: Why did it take over fifty years for the relationship to realise its potential?
Though Brazil was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic ties with independent India, the relationship remained underdeveloped for decades. Both countries were focused on other priorities and regions. Their changing economic fortunes and evolving approaches to the world have now created conditions for deeper engagement. The delay is a reminder that international partnerships require deliberate effort and sustained engagement; they are not inevitable.
Q5: What does the India-Brazil partnership represent in the broader global context?
The partnership represents an alternative pole in a multipolar world—not a rival bloc, but a demonstration that middle powers can carve out independent space and preserve strategic autonomy while advancing national interests. In a world dominated by US-China rivalry, India and Brazil show that there is a third way: pragmatic, issue-based cooperation that amplifies the voice of the Global South and advocates for a more rules-based international order.
