President Lula to begin visit to India on Feb. 18
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled on Tuesday morning (Feb. 17) to visit India from February 18 to 21, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lula’s entourage is expected to make a stopover in Tunis, capital of Tunisia.
On February 19 and 20, President Lula will participate in a summit on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and related events in New Delhi.
According to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, the summit will continue a series of intergovernmental meetings on AI security and governance, which the ministry terms “Bletchley process.”
Multilateralism
On February 21, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the president will be received on a state visit by the Indian prime minister.
At the meeting, Lula and Narendra Modi should address the current challenges to multilateralism and the need for comprehensive reform of global governance, such as the already debated reform of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
In 2025, India was Brazil’s fifth-largest trading partner, with a trade flow of USD 15.2 billion.
The two leaders will also have the opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, defense, aviation, digital technologies, AI, economics and finance, energy transition, critical minerals, health care, access to medicines and the pharmaceutical industry, and space cooperation, among others.
Entourage
The Brazilian president is traveling to India accompanied by an entourage of state ministers, representatives of public institutions, and a delegation of Brazilian business leaders.
Before departing, Health Minister Alexandre Padilha said on social media that priority will be given to agreements in the pharmaceutical sector in order to attract investment, access to new drugs, and research by Brazil to ensure that Brazilians have access to medicines and health care technology.
“Our mission in India, this pharmaceutical powerhouse, will have three main focuses – bringing more and more products and technologies to Brazil (signing several partnerships [in the area]), learning about traditional Indian medicine, and visiting smart hospitals,” the minister stated.
