Hyderabad: At the invitation from India, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the Chief Guest of the Republic Day parade on January 26. Leading a huge delegation including officials and 59- strong business community, the visiting dignitary held one to one delegation-level talks with the Indian leadership on January 25.
However, some eyebrows were raised about the choice of Bolsonaro as he is known for his far-right views and has also been leveled as misogynist and homophobic. The ex-military officer Bolsonaro was relatively lightweight in Brazilian politics till 2018 though he had been a member of the House of Deputies for seven consecutive terms.
However, with the disqualification of the heavyweight contestant and former President Lula, Bolsonaro had an easy walk to the top office.
Notwithstanding the debatable views of Bolsonaro, he has been invited as the legally elected President of democracy with an emerging economy and not in his capacity.
One might ask why invite Brazil out of many big and friendly nations? The reasons are not difficult to find. Politically, Brazil is one of the few strategic partners of India having signed such a treaty in 2006. It is also a member of the groups BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), IBSA (India, Brazil and South Arica) & G-20. As a member of G4 (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan), Brazil and India have supported each other’s candidature for the permanent membership of the UN Security Council on its expansion.
In the UN, Brazil has always supported India on the issue of terrorism, SDGs and peace initiatives.
On the commercial side, both emerging economies had marched together with almost the same GDP in 2010 after which Brazil was hit by a recession and recently Indian economy also started showing signs of slow down. However, Brazil still remains important for us as it has the biggest iron deposits in the world and the biggest source of ethanol for hybrid energy.
Even in the case of crude oil, Brazil is sitting over an estimated crude deposit of around 82 billion barrels which can be a source of conventional energy for us in the current uncertain situation in the Gulf region. We already have a cooperation arrangement in this sector.
Brazil is also the biggest producer of Sugar, Coffee, Soya beans while utilising just above 20% of its arable landmass (which is 2.7 times that of India). It also hosts more than 20% of the world’s forest (Amazon rain forest), rich in biodiversity and medicinal plants.
The huge strides Brazil has made in the manufacturing industry can give us a lesson and possible cooperation. It may be noted that with around 700 cows imported from our Gir region in 1896, Brazil has now become the biggest meat exporter and a major producer of dairy items by and genetically improving the livestock. We have also signed a Free Trade Agreement with MERCOSUR of which Brazil is the most important member.
The MERCOSUR countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, have been engaging with India for expanding the tariff lines, which could give a big push to trade.
Socially, Brazil’s program to uplift its poor population is also commendable. The program, “Bolsa Familia” (family package) which is based on regularly monitored data, provides financial support to BPL families by direct transfer of monthly support amount to the account of the lady (not the male) of the family provided the family proves that they regularly go through health checks and children attend the schools regularly.
India has recently implemented this only partially. Thus, Brazil becomes an important country for us to ensure mutual development.
During the ongoing visit, the two countries have signed as many as 15 MOUs/agreements in various sectors ranging from Industry, Civil Aviation, Health, Traditional medicine, Agriculture, Energy, Mining, Innovation, Animal Husbandry to Defence production which, when implemented, will give a new boost to our economy.
