Brazil–India relations
Encyclopedia
Brazil–India relations refers to the bilateral
relations
between Brazil
and India
.
Brazil's main language is Portuguese. India's main languages are Hindi and English. Brazil and India have co-operated in the multilateral
level on issues such as international trade and development, environment, reform of the UN
and the UNSC expansion
.
’s Pedro Alvares Cabral
is officially recognised as the first European to “discover” Brazil in 1500. Cabral was sent to India by the King of Portugal after the return of Vasco da Gama
from his pioneering journey to India. Cabral is reported to have been blown-off course on his way to India. Brazil became an important Portuguese colony
and stop-over in the long journey to Goa
. This Portuguese connection led to the exchange of several agricultural crops between India and Brazil in the colonial days. Indian cattle was also imported to Brazil. Most of the cattle in Brazil is of Indian origin.
Diplomatic relations between India and Brazil were established in 1948. The Indian Embassy opened in Rio de Janeiro
on May 3, 1948, moving to Brasília
on August 1, 1971.
One of the major sources of tension between the two nations was the decolonization process of the Portuguese enclaves in India, principally Goa. Despite pressure from India on Portugal to retreat from the subcontinent, Brazil supported Portugal’s claim for Goa. Brazil only changed course in 1961, when it became increasingly clear that India would succeed is taking control of Goa by force from an increasingly feeble Portugal, which faced too many internal problems to pose a potent military threat to India. Still, when Nehru’s armies overwhelmed Portuguese resistance and occupied Goa, the Brazilian government criticized India sharply for violating international law. While Brazil tried to explain to India that its position was to be understood in the context of a long tradition of friendship between Brazil and Portugal, the Indian government was deeply disappointed that Brazil, a democratic and a former colony, would support a non-democratic Portugal against democratic and recently independent India.
to Brazil in May 1998. There is also a presence of ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
, Bhakti Vedanta Foundation and other Indian spiritual guru
s and organisations have chapters in Brazil.
Mahatma Gandhi
is highly regarded in the country and the government has sought to teach his philosophy of non-violence to the police to improve its track record. A statue of Gandhi is located in a prominent square in Rio de Janeiro. A group called the Filhos de Gandhi (Sons of Gandhi) participates regularly in the carnival
in Salvador
. Private Brazilian organizations occasionally invite Indian cultural troupes.
Caminho das Índias
, a popular telenova in Brazil aired in 2009 massively popularised Indian culture in Brazil. Books about India started to pop up on the best-selling list, the number of travels to India by Brazilians tourists increased dramatically and restaurants and even nightclubs with Indian themes starting to open.
and technology
, pharmaceuticals and space
. The two-way trade in 2007 nearly tripled to US$ 3.12 billion from US$ 1.2 billion in 2004.
Global software giant, Wipro Technologies, also set up a business process outsourcing
centre in Curitiba
to provide shared services to AmBev
, the largest brewery in Latin America. AmBev's zonal vice president, Renato Nahas Batista, said "We are honoured to be a part of Wipro's expansion plans in Brazil and Latin America." AmBev's portfolio includes leading brands like Brahma, Becks, Stella and Antarctica.
permanent membership since the underlying philosophy for both of them are: UNSC should be more democratic, legitimate and representative - the G4
is a novel grouping for this realization.
initiative.
The first ever IBSA Summit was held in Brasília in September 2006, followed by the Second IBSA Summit held in Pretoria
in October 2007, with the third one to be held in New Delhi
in October 2008. The fourth IBSA meet
was again hosted in Brasilia, just before the second BRIC summit
. Four IBSA Trilateral Commission meetings were already held till 2007 since the first one was held in 2004 and had covered many areas such as science, technology, education, agriculture, energy, culture, health, social issues, public administration and revenue administration. The target of US$10 billion in trade was already achieved by 2007.
Both countries view this as a tool of transformation diplomacy to bring economic growth, sustainable development
, poverty reduction and regional prosperity in the vast regions of Latin America
, Africa
and Asia
. The IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger has already provided funds for capacity building in East Timor
and for the fight against HIV/AIDS in Burundi
and has won the South-South Partnership Award at the 2006 UN Day event held in New York City
on 19 December 2006.
Bilateralism
Bilateralism consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. For example, free trade agreements signed by two states are examples of bilateral treaties. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a...
relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
between Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Brazil's main language is Portuguese. India's main languages are Hindi and English. Brazil and India have co-operated in the multilateral
Multilateralism
Multilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given issue.International organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in nature...
level on issues such as international trade and development, environment, reform of the UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and the UNSC expansion
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Reform of the United Nations Security Council encompasses five key issues: categories of membership, the question of the veto held by the five permanent members, regional representation, the size of an enlarged Council and its working methods, and the Security Council-General Assembly relationship...
.
Country comparison
 Brazil |
 India |
|
|---|---|---|
| Population | 190,732,694 | 1,210,193,422 |
| Area | 8,514,877 km² (3,287,597 sq mi) | 3,287,240 km² (1,269,210 sq mi) |
| Population Density | 22/km² (57/sq mi) | 364/km² (943/sq mi) |
| Capital | Brasília Brasília Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the... |
New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is... |
| Largest City | São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among... - 11,037,593 (19.889.559 Metro) |
Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... - 13,922,125 (21,347,412 Metro) |
| Government | Federal Federalism Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and... presidential Presidential system A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it.... constitutional republic Constitutional republic A constitutional republic is a state in which the head of state and other officials are representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over all of its citizens... |
Federal Federalism Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and... parliamentary Parliamentary system A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined.... constitutional republic Constitutional republic A constitutional republic is a state in which the head of state and other officials are representatives of the people and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over all of its citizens... |
| Official languages | Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... |
Oriya Oriya language Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal... , Hindi Hindi Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi... , English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... , Telugu Telugu language Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu... , Bengali Bengali language Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script... , Tamil Tamil language Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore... and 17 other officially recognised languages. see: Official Languages of india |
| Main religions | 74% Roman Catholicism, 15.4% Protestant, 7.4% non-Religuous Atheism Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities... , 1.3% Kardecist spiritism, 1.7% Other religions, 0.3% Afro-Brazilian religions |
80.5% Hinduism Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions... , 13.4% Islam Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... , 2.3% Christianity Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... , 1.9% Sikhism Sikhism Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing... , 0.8% Buddhism Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th... , 0.4% Jainism Jainism Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state... , 1.2% other religions |
| GDP (nominal) | US$1.612 trillion ($10,200 per capita Per capita Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person... ) |
US$1.430 trillion ($1,176 per capita) |
| Military expenditures | $23.97 billion (FY 2009) | $37.6 billion (FY 2011-12) |
History
India’s links with Brazil go back five centuries. PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
’s Pedro Alvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral was a Portuguese noble, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the discoverer of Brazil. Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life are sketchy, it...
is officially recognised as the first European to “discover” Brazil in 1500. Cabral was sent to India by the King of Portugal after the return of Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
from his pioneering journey to India. Cabral is reported to have been blown-off course on his way to India. Brazil became an important Portuguese colony
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
and stop-over in the long journey to Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. This Portuguese connection led to the exchange of several agricultural crops between India and Brazil in the colonial days. Indian cattle was also imported to Brazil. Most of the cattle in Brazil is of Indian origin.
Diplomatic relations between India and Brazil were established in 1948. The Indian Embassy opened in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
on May 3, 1948, moving to Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
on August 1, 1971.
One of the major sources of tension between the two nations was the decolonization process of the Portuguese enclaves in India, principally Goa. Despite pressure from India on Portugal to retreat from the subcontinent, Brazil supported Portugal’s claim for Goa. Brazil only changed course in 1961, when it became increasingly clear that India would succeed is taking control of Goa by force from an increasingly feeble Portugal, which faced too many internal problems to pose a potent military threat to India. Still, when Nehru’s armies overwhelmed Portuguese resistance and occupied Goa, the Brazilian government criticized India sharply for violating international law. While Brazil tried to explain to India that its position was to be understood in the context of a long tradition of friendship between Brazil and Portugal, the Indian government was deeply disappointed that Brazil, a democratic and a former colony, would support a non-democratic Portugal against democratic and recently independent India.
Cultural relations
A successful Festival of India was organised during the visit of President K.R. NarayananNarayanan
Narayanan may mean*Narayana, an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu and in many contemporary vernaculars, a common Indian name.*R. K. Narayan, a widely read Indian novelist writing in English.*K. R. Narayanan, the tenth President of the Republic of India....
to Brazil in May 1998. There is also a presence of ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
, Bhakti Vedanta Foundation and other Indian spiritual guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
s and organisations have chapters in Brazil.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
is highly regarded in the country and the government has sought to teach his philosophy of non-violence to the police to improve its track record. A statue of Gandhi is located in a prominent square in Rio de Janeiro. A group called the Filhos de Gandhi (Sons of Gandhi) participates regularly in the carnival
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
in Salvador
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...
. Private Brazilian organizations occasionally invite Indian cultural troupes.
Caminho das Índias
Caminho das Índias
Caminho das Índias is a Brazilian Emmy-winning television telenovela produced by Rede Globo and first broadcast from January 19 to September 11, 2009. It ranked within the top of the most watched shows on Brazilian television...
, a popular telenova in Brazil aired in 2009 massively popularised Indian culture in Brazil. Books about India started to pop up on the best-selling list, the number of travels to India by Brazilians tourists increased dramatically and restaurants and even nightclubs with Indian themes starting to open.
Economic relations
In recent years, relations between Brazil and India have grown considerably and co-operation between the two countries has been extended to such diverse areas as scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, pharmaceuticals and space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
. The two-way trade in 2007 nearly tripled to US$ 3.12 billion from US$ 1.2 billion in 2004.
Global software giant, Wipro Technologies, also set up a business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
centre in Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
to provide shared services to AmBev
AmBev
Ambev formally Companhia de Bebidas das Américas is a subsidiary of global brewing company Anheuser-Busch InBev and is the biggest brewery in South America and the fifth in the world...
, the largest brewery in Latin America. AmBev's zonal vice president, Renato Nahas Batista, said "We are honoured to be a part of Wipro's expansion plans in Brazil and Latin America." AmBev's portfolio includes leading brands like Brahma, Becks, Stella and Antarctica.
21st century relations
UNSC reform
Both countries want the participation of developing countries in the UNSCUnited Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
permanent membership since the underlying philosophy for both of them are: UNSC should be more democratic, legitimate and representative - the G4
G4 nations
The G4 is an alliance among Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan for the purpose of supporting each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Unlike the G8 , where the common denominator is the economy and long-term political motives, the G4's primary aim is the...
is a novel grouping for this realization.
South-South cooperation
Brazil and India are involved in the IBSAIBSA Dialogue Forum
The IBSA Dialogue Forum is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South-South cooperation and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely,...
initiative.
The first ever IBSA Summit was held in Brasília in September 2006, followed by the Second IBSA Summit held in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
in October 2007, with the third one to be held in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in October 2008. The fourth IBSA meet
2010 IBSA summit
The 2010 IBSA summit took place in Brasilia, Brazil on April 15, 2010. The meeting took place between the three heads of government from the IBSA states. This was the fourth such meeting.-Overview:...
was again hosted in Brasilia, just before the second BRIC summit
2010 BRIC summit
The 2010 BRIC summit took place in Brasilia, Brazil on April 16, 2010. This was the second BRIC summit after Yekaterinburg in 2009. The meeting took place between the four heads of government from the BRIC states following bilateral meetings in the prior days....
. Four IBSA Trilateral Commission meetings were already held till 2007 since the first one was held in 2004 and had covered many areas such as science, technology, education, agriculture, energy, culture, health, social issues, public administration and revenue administration. The target of US$10 billion in trade was already achieved by 2007.
Both countries view this as a tool of transformation diplomacy to bring economic growth, sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, poverty reduction and regional prosperity in the vast regions of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger has already provided funds for capacity building in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and for the fight against HIV/AIDS in Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
and has won the South-South Partnership Award at the 2006 UN Day event held in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 19 December 2006.
External links
- Embassy of Brazil in India
- Embassy of India in Brazil
- IBSA Trilateral India, Brazil South Africa Forum
- 6 Tips for Indian Businesses in Brazil