Trade, Doha dialogue to dominate Brazil foreign minister's agenda

Trade, commerce and rebuilding the Doha dialogue will top the agenda of Brazil's Minister of External Relations Celso Amorim during his two-day visit to Delhi beginning tomorrow. Besides, co-chairing the third meeting of the Indo-Brazil Joint Commission, Amorim will hold consultations with six key members of the World Trade Organisation to end the Doha deadlock.

One minister who ordinarily might have had a role in the talks but will not be present is India's Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh. Ramesh is leading a multisectoral delegation to Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan for the duration of the Brazilian foreign minister's visit.

Brazil was not amused when, just before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to that country last year, Ramesh granted an interview to a top Brazilian newspaper where he junked the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) grouping and implied that India and Brazil had competing economies with very little in common. The interview was badly timed because President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a Left wing politician, was seeking reelection at the time. The opposition parties in Brazil seized on the interview to ask why he was wasting the nation's time when India thought so little of Brazil.

But whatever Ramesh's reservations, it is clear that IBSA has caught the imagination of at least a part of Brazil and India's business and trading community, though volumes are still very small.

Though Brazil is India's largest trading partner in Latin America, in 2006, India's exports were just $1.47 billion and imports, $937 million.

Indian companies have started investment and joint ventures in Brazil in IT, pharmaceuticals, energy, agri-business and mining sectors. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has acquired an offshore oil bloc for $420 million. Brazilian companies are also pursuing opportunities in India in areas such as petroleum, mining, automobiles and aviation.

During his 2006 visit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made it a point to underscore the "cooperative nature" of the Indian and Brazilian economies. President Lula on his part said that both countries had "already overcome the barrier of prejudice" and "the obstacles of distance".

The Joint Commission will review cooperation in various sectors such as agriculture, science and technology, defence, energy, health, tourism, culture and infrastructure. The last meeting of the Joint Commission was held in Brasilia in February 2006.

Amorim will meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and call on the PM. He will also meet Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath to discuss the WTO issues.

Amorim is accompanied by large a business and official delegation.