India and Brazil on Thursday held a meeting here of their joint commission during which the two sides discussed deepening the political dialogue and reviewed bilateral ties.
Brazilian Minister of External Relations Mauro Vieira co-chaired the seventh JCM along with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, spokesperson of India's external affairs ministry Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing.
"Both ministers underscored the importance of the JCM mechanism in deepening political dialogue, reviewing bilateral ties and and exchanging views on regional and multilateral cooperation," Swarup said.
"The strategic partnership established in 2006 between India and Brazil has deepened with both countries cooperating closely in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa), G4, G20, BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) and the wider multilateral context of the United Nations," he said.
According to the spokesperson, the partnership is based on a common global vision, shared democratic values, and a commitment to foster economic growth and social inclusion for the benefit of the people of the two countries.
"The ministers agreed that there should be a mechanism at a senior officer's level to hold foreign office consultations, to take stock of the bilateral cooperation, regional and multilateral issues," Swarup said.
He said the two ministers reviewed economic and trade relations noting that there remained tremendous potential for further growth and diversification of bilateral trade.
"The trade figures show a total turnover for 2014 increasing by over 20 percent to $11,42 billion, India advancing from 12th to eighth among Brazil's top trading partners," the spokesperson said, adding, however, that both the ministers noted that there was unutilised potential that needed to tapped.
Both the ministers also called for early holding of the trade monitoring mechanism and functioning of CEO's forum.
During the meeting, India expressed satisfaction with Brazilian investment in spheres such as Urban transportation, IT services and equipment, footwear, infrastructure, energy, and healthcare materials.
"Conversely the Brazilian side acknowledged that a significant number of Indian companies have invested in Brazil with over 50 having a physical presence in areas such as oil, renewable energy, mining, engineering, automotive services, infrastructure, information technology and pharmaceuticals," Swarup stated.
India also apprised Brazil of the relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) policies, "Make in India" initiative, and sought more investments from the South American nation.
The two sides also agreed to hold the next JCM in Brazil in 2017.
