Brasilia, July 9: India's Ambassador to Brazil, Dinesh Bhatia, has stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the South American nation has significantly strengthened bilateral relations between the two countries, both of which are important components of the Global South. During his official visit to Brazil, PM Modi held extensive discussions with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday.

Both leaders agreed to enhance cooperation across a range of sectors, including defence, trade, energy, agriculture, digital technology, and people-to-people engagement. Describing President Lula as the "Chief Architect of the Strategic Partnership between India and Brazil," Prime Minister Modi praised the Brazilian leader for playing a pivotal role in strengthening ties between the two democracies.

Ambassador Bhatia, speaking to IANS, highlighted the importance of this visit, stating, "This is the first state visit by the Indian Prime Minister to Brazil in 57 years. There were very meaningful discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Lula. Both leaders shared great chemistry, and they discussed several subjects that had perhaps never been on the table before, and now we are moving forward on them."

He said that the leaders discussed deepening cooperation in trade, investment, defence, agriculture, oil and gas, and other strategic areas. "Today, six agreements were also shared between the two nations. With this, the relations between the two nations, both of which are part of the Global South, will further strengthen," Bhatia noted. Among the key issues discussed was visa liberalisation, aimed at easing mobility for citizens of both countries.

Referring to this, PM Modi said, "We wish for India-Brazil relations to be as vibrant as Carnival, as passionate as football, and as heart-connecting as Samba -- all without the long visa counter queues! With this spirit, we will work together to ease people-to-people exchanges between our two nations, especially for tourists, students, sportspersons, and businessmen." Ambassador Bhatia also stressed the importance of easing visa procedures.

"Visa liberalisation is important because when you want to boost trade and investment, it becomes crucial that businessmen and genuine tourists can obtain visas easily," he said.

The Ambassador also said that President Lula extended his condolences and solidarity in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, and pledged Brazil's support in the global fight against terrorism. "Brazil and President Lula strongly condemned the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam. In addition, the new agreement on information exchange will help us significantly in counter-terrorism and tackling transnational crime," Bhatia added.

(IANS)

Argus English | argus english | Odisha Latest News, Breaking News, Trending News, Live TV