India, Brazil partnership relevant to the entire world: PM Modi
'India and Brazil have always worked in close coordination at the global level. As two large democratic countries, our cooperation is relevant not only for the Global South, but for the entire humanity,' said Mr. Modi highlighting the role of India and Brazil in safeguarding the interest of the Global South. Earlier, the Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome in Brasilia where he arrived on Monday after attending the BRICS summit in Rio De Janeiro.
'Today, when the world is going through a period of tension and uncertainty, my friend [President Lula] explained in great detail. I am not repeating it. This India-Brazil partnership is an important pillar of stability and balance. We are unanimous that all disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy,' said Mr. Modi, highlighting terrorism as one such area of cooperation which should have 'zero tolerance and zero double standards'.
The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to Brazil after receiving the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross from President Lula and thanked him for playing 'an important role' in strengthening India-Brazil ties. 'In today's discussions, we talked about strengthening cooperation in every field. We have set a target to take bilateral trade to $20 billion in the coming five years,' said Mr. Modi.
Six pacts signed
The two sides signed six agreements that included renewable energy, cooperation on combating terrorism, intellectual property, agriculture and protection of classified information.
'Our cooperation in the field of energy is constantly growing. Environment and clean energy are the main priorities of both the countries. The agreement that has been made today to increase cooperation in this area will give new direction and momentum to our green goals,' said Mr. Modi, who described cooperation in the field of defence as a sign of 'mutual trust'.
'We will continue our efforts to connect our defence industries,' said the Prime Minister, announcing that the two sides were 'working together on the adoption of UPI [Unified Payments Interface] in Brazil.'
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