The Vice President (VP) of Brazil and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade & Services, Geraldo Alckmin was on a three-day visit to India from October 15 to 17, 2025 to strengthen the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership, and deepen collaboration in defence, energy, health, and technology.
- The visit also lays the groundwork for the visit of President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2026.
Exam Hints:
- What? Vice President of Brazil Geraldo Alckmin visited India
- When? October 15 to 17, 2025
- Event: Trade Ministerial Review Meeting, India-Brazil Business Forum
- Bilateral Trade target: USD 20 billion by 2030
- MoU: Embraer (Brazil) & Mahindra Group (India) for C-390 Millennium aircraft
- Visited AIIA : Reviewed Ayurveda research & traditional medicine integration
Highlight of Brazilian VP Geraldo Alckmin’s Visit to India :
Arrival: On October 15, 2025, he arrived in New Delhi,Delhi where he received a ceremonial airport welcome attended by senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Brazilian Embassy.
Meetings:
Defence Minister: On October 16, 2025, Brazilian VP Geraldo Alckmin held a meeting with Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi, focusing on enhancing defence cooperation in areas such as defence industrial collaboration, technology exchange, and joint research and development, emphasizing the development of South-South Strategic partnerships.
- India proposed supplying the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)-developed Akash medium-range air defence missile system to Brazil and discussed its co-development and co-production.
VP: He met with Vice President of India C.P. Radhakrishnan at the Vice President’s Enclave in New Delhi and reviewed the broad spectrum of India-Brazil cooperation.
- The discussion focused on Trade and investment expansion, Science and technology collaboration, and Cultural and people-to-people ties.
Commerce Minister: Co-Chaired a Trade Ministerial Review Meeting with Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), aimed at strengthening the economic partnership and advancing negotiations to deepen the existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between India-MERCOSUR bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with an aim to increase bilateral trade from USD 12 billion in 2024 to USD 20 billion by 2030.
- The PTA, signed in 2004 and operational since 2009, was agreed by Brazil and India to update to reflect current economic trends and untapped potential.
- India and Brazil will jointly work to reflect current economic trends, expand the list of traded goods beyond the existing 450 tariff lines, and strengthen industry ties between Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) of India and National Confederation of Industry (CNI) of Brazil.
EAM: On October 17, 2025, Brazilian VP Geraldo Alckmin met Union Minister S. Jaishankar, MEA, and discussed global governance coordination, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) cooperation, Group of Twenty (G20) follow-up, and multilateral trade issues.
- They also reviewed regional developments and reaffirmed commitment to South-to-South partnerships in health, technology, and climate action.
Petroleum Minister: Met with Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), focusing on energy security and diversification, especially Brazil’s expertise in biofuels and ethanol blending and discussed joint research in bioenergy, green hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies.
India-Brazil Business Forum:
Forum: Brazilian VP Geraldo Alckmin Alckmin inaugurated and addressed the India-Brazil Business Forum, organized jointly by the CII, FICCI, and CNI, in collaboration with MEA(India) and Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services(Brazil).
Outcomes: The forum brought together leading Indian and Brazilian business executives, policymakers, and trade officials. The discussion includes:
- Expanding bilateral commerce, investment, and technology partnerships
- Promoting Joint Ventures (JVs) in agriculture, biofuels, Renewable Energy (RE), infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, Information Technology (IT), and aerospace.
Agreement signed:
Entities: Embraer Defence and Security of Brazil and Mahindra Group signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) to promote the C-39 Millenium aircraft for the Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program of Indian Air Force (IAF), in alignment with Government of India (GoI)’s vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative.
Background: The agreement builds upon a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2024, expanding its scope to include joint marketing and industrialization.
Role of entities: Under the SCA, Embraer and Mahindra Group will collaborate with India’s aerospace ecosystem to identify opportunities for local manufacturing, assembly activities, supply chain management, and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) activities.
Visit to AIIA:
He visited the All-India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in New Delhi and was briefed on India’s growth in Ayurveda research, traditional medicine integration, and evidence-based practices.
About Brazil:
President – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Capital – Brasilia
Currency – Brazilian Real, BRL
