New Delhi: The Joint commission of India and Brazil had a meeting on Thursday, during which the two sides had talks on deepening the political dialogue and review the bilateral ties.
Brazilian Minister of External Relations Mauro Vieira co-chaired the seventh Joint Commission Meeting (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,
"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,
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, both the ministers noted that there was a unutilised potential which needs to be tapped.
Both the ministers also called for the 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,
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.
(Inputs from IANS)