Brazil, India renew commitment to strategic alliance

The leaders held the work meeting prior to the summits of the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), both taking place Thursday in the Brazilian capital.

In a joint statement released by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry after the meeting, Lula and Singh expressed satisfaction with the continued expansion of bilateral trade, which reached 5.6 billion US dollars in 2009, and bilateral investment in various fields.

Opportunities in the areas of energy, agriculture, mining, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and construction were highlighted as the ones where investment may be expanded.

They welcomed the entry into force of the trade preference agreement between the Mercosur (bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and India in June 2009, and highlighted the need to increase the number of tariff lines of the agreement for expansion.

They expressed satisfaction with the current bilateral cooperation in the area of defense, particularly in the joint development of high-tech military aircraft.

The two leaders agreed on the "urgent need" for strengthening the participation of developing countries in multilateral financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as well as in political institutions such as the United Nations; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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