India, Brazil sign mining pact as Modi targets $20 billion trade

India moved to deepen trade ties with Brazil on Saturday, signing a pact to expand cooperation in mining and minerals as it seeks to meet rising domestic steel demand and support capacity expansion amid a global race for raw materials.

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The agreement was signed in the presence of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who arrived in New Delhi earlier this week for a three-day visit.

Brazil is among the world’s top producers of iron ore and holds large reserves of minerals critical to steelmaking. Closer cooperation is expected to improve India's access to raw materials and technologies needed to sustain long-term growth in its steel sector, an Indian government statement said.

The cooperation will focus on attracting investment in exploration, mining and steel sector infrastructure, the statement said.

India has steelmaking capacity of 218 million metric tons, and companies are expanding output to meet rising domestic demand driven by infrastructure development and industrialisation.

Addressing a meeting with a Brazilian delegation led by Lula, Modi said their talks had focused on ways to deepen the India-Brazil trade partnership.

“We are committed to taking bilateral trade much beyond $20 billion in the next five years,” Modi said.

Bilateral trade between the two countries currently stands at about $15 billion.

“Our nations will also work closely in areas such as technology, innovation, digital public infrastructure, Al, semiconductors and more,” Modi said.