New Delhi, Oct 17 Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday that India and Brazil have agreed to expand their partnership in oil exploration and production, with Indian upstream oil companies such as ONGC expected to participate in upcoming offshore projects in the Latin American country.
“Was pleased to meet Geraldo Alckmin, Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services of Brazil, during his visit to India. Our conversation focused on the expanding energy partnership between India and Brazil, from robust bilateral trade in hydrocarbons and long-term crude supply contracts with Petrobras, to Indian investments worth over USD 3.5 billion in Brazil’s upstream sector, making it India’s largest investment destination in the Americas,” the minister said.
The minister further stated that discussions also took place on opportunities for collaboration in exploration and production, India’s participation in upcoming offshore projects, and mutual prospects in deep and ultra-deepwater activities.
The discussions further covered cooperation in the clean energy transition, biofuels and ethanol blending, and advancing joint efforts under the Global Biofuels Alliance, where both nations continue to play a leading role, he added.
“Having served as India’s Ambassador to Brazil from 2006 to 2008, it was a pleasure to reconnect with Brazil once again, a country with which I share enduring warmth and a deep professional association, particularly in the energy domain,” Puri said.
Brazil is the largest trade partner of India in South America.
“During the recent State visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Brazil, the leaders agreed to establish a Ministerial-level Review Mechanism to foster our trade and investment, and set a bilateral trade target of USD 20 billion in the next five years,” said a joint statement issued on Thursday.
India and Brazil have also decided to go in for a substantial expansion of the agreement between India and MERCOSUR member states, aiming for a significant share of the bilateral trade to benefit from tariff preferences, according to the statement.
The agreement between India and MERCOSUR, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, was signed on June 17, 2003, with the aim of strengthening relations and promoting the expansion of trade.
According to the joint statement, the expansion of the agreement should cover both tariff and non-tariff issues related to trade and economic partnership.
The next step in this initiative should be the establishment of a technical dialogue between the Parties, including the holding of a meeting of the Joint Administration Committee created under Article 23 of the preference trade agreement at the earliest mutually convenient date, with a view to defining the scope of the expansion, the statement further said.
Parties should endeavour to conclude the negotiations within one year from the launch of negotiations, the joint statement added.
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