Opening remarks by EAM, Dr. S. Jaishankar at the 9th India- Brazil Joint Commission Meeting

Excellency,

Let me welcome you and your delegation again to India. And I look forward today to a very productive meeting of the Joint Commission.

Let me also begin by congratulating Brazil for conducting the G20 meetings successfully and on the 1st Ministerial Consensus Document realized during the G20 Development Working Group Ministerial Meeting. I would like to reiterate India's full support to the Brazilian G20 Presidency, and recall how we got your fullest support during our Presidency. We appreciate various unique initiatives centred on the theme of "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet".

Our Strategic Partnership, which was established in 2006, has deepened and diversified over the years. It now spans a very wide range of domains - defence, space and security, including cyber; trade and investment; oil and natural gas; biofuel; agriculture, animal husbandry and food processing; health and medicine; traditional medicine; science and technology; culture and people to people relations.

We have a substantial bilateral trade basket, which has by and large gone up in the last year. We have had some challenges and it's something I look forward to discussing with you. We also have a very important energy cooperation between our two countries. And we of course particularly value the bio fuels cooperation that India and Brazil have established.

The people-to-people ties are also a big support to our relationship. We are very pleased to see that there is appreciation of Indian culture, performing arts and philosophy in Brazil and celebrations relating to India in various platforms.

I also look forward to discussing our multilateral cooperation. G20 I have already mentioned. We have in BRICS a strong and reliable partnership. We have in the UN platforms always worked together. We are together the members of the G-4, a group whose meeting I look forward to next month.

So bilaterally, multilaterally and on a number of regional issues, I think we are both countries who have taken important public positions on matters which concern the international community. I look forward to discussing some of those issues with you as well.

Once again I welcome you and members of your delegation and look forward to our conversation.

Thank you.