Nishant Bhaiji
NEW DELHI: India and Brazil will work together and play central role in pushing the agenda of developing countries during their G20 presidencies, and as part of the ‘Troika’. Both the countries have a golden opportunity to push for a multiyear planning horizon.
India and Brazil share a multidimensional relationship which encompasses both bilateral and multilateral arenas. Apart from G20, both the countries are members of forum like BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; BASIC – Brazil, Africa, South Africa, India, and China; IBSA – India, Brazil, and South Africa; and ISA – the International Solar Alliance.
Starting December 1, India will be the sixth developing nation to assume the presidency of G20. Before that, Mexico, China, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have held the year-long presidency of the grouping.
The Indian presidency also holds special significance as it is for the first time that the Troika will only have developing nations. Besides India, it will comprise previous president Indonesia and successor Brazil.
In the absence of a permanent secretariat, G20 relies on Troika, a mechanism where present, past and future presidencies establish link and ensure continuity of the agenda. For 2025 presidency, Brazil will be succeeded by South Africa; hence even the next Troika will be exclusively of developing nations.
‘Troika of developing countries’ presents an unprecedented opportunity to set the agenda of G20 to suit developing countries. It will be a first for the grouping, usually dominated by developed nations. Both, India and Brazil have been emphasising on straightening SouthSouth cooperation at the G20 forum. Also, issues of the Global South have appeared numerous times in the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government.
A closer relationship between India and Brazil would energise G20 presidency of both the countries. The two already share a robust trading partnership – Brazil is India’s largest trading partner in South America. It is also an active supporter of India’s UNSC candidacy.
India is the only G20 nation which has achieved its climate mitigation commitments without external support. To honour its energy commitments, it needs to reduce its dependency on fossil fuel. Brazil’s technological innovation in biofuels and automobiles presents an alluring opportunity for cooperation.
For energy security, both sides have established various collaborative platforms, like Brazil-India Ethanol Talks, Symposium on Aviation Biofuels, Joint Working Group on Bioenergy Cooperation and Round table on India-Brazil Collaboration in Biofuels in Automobile Sector.
In January 2020, Jair Bolsonaro, the then-President of Brazil, was the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. Speaking at the IndiaBrazil Business Forum during the visit, he had emphasised on common and mutually beneficial relationships in biofuels, automobiles, research, agriculture markets, space research and cyber issues. “Both India and Brazil share a common future and I am confident that together we will achieve all our goals in the years to come with a stronger India-Brazil relationship”, he had said.
