New Delhi, Oct 15 (NationPress) Brazil's Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Geraldo Alckmin has arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday afternoon for a crucial three-day official visit to India. The purpose of this visit is to engage in the inaugural Trade Ministerial Review Meeting with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal extended a warm welcome to Alckmin, stating in a post on X, "Adding momentum to the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership. Mr. Geraldo Alckmin, Vice-President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services of Brazil has arrived in New Delhi."

During his stay, Alckmin plans to meet with Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri. The discussions will cover various topics of mutual interest. Alckmin is also set to participate in the India-Brazil Business Forum and visit the All India Institute of Ayurveda.

According to a statement from the MEA, "Brazil is the largest trade partner of India in South America. During Prime Minister Modi's recent state visit to Brazil, the leaders agreed to establish a Ministerial-level Review Mechanism to enhance trade and investment, setting a bilateral trade target of USD 20 billion over the next five years."

The visit aims to review bilateral trade and investment, pinpoint new priority sectors, establish a roadmap for achieving the trade target, and further fortify the multifaceted Strategic Partnership.

This visit follows a recent discussion between India and Brazil on a roadmap to elevate bilateral trade to USD 20 billion within five years, which was addressed during the seventh meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM) on October 7.

During this meeting, Rajesh Agrawal, Commerce Secretary, and Tatiana Lacerda Prazeres, Secretary of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services for Brazil, co-chaired discussions on bilateral trade and outlined a forward-looking roadmap.

The discussions encompassed a review of bilateral trade and investment relations, expansion of the India-MERCOSUR PTA, market access, visa matters, sectoral collaborations in pharmaceuticals, healthcare, chemicals, petrochemicals, MSMEs, banking and finance, and other crucial areas of mutual interest.

During Prime Minister Modi's state visit to Brazil in July 2025, he and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva set a target to elevate bilateral trade to USD 20 billion over the next five years.