Speaking after a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (17) in Goa, India, President Michel Temer said the visit to the Asian country "relaunched" the strategic partnership between Brazil and India.

“This visit relaunched our strategic partnership, which will translate into more competitive insertion in global markets and support the development of our societies. We hope this meeting will further expand our relationships," Temer said.

During the meeting, progress was made in the negotiations for the Agreement on Cooperation and Investment Facilitation, which will increase legal certainty for investors of both countries, facilitating the insertion of Brazilian companies in India and the coming of Indian companies to Brazil.

Temer said that the Brazilian entrepreneurs who attended business meetings during the visit were very interested in investing their resources in India. He also encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to invest in Brazil, highlighting in particular the investment opportunities offered by the Grow Programme, which launched 34 initial projects in the areas of ports, airports, highways, railways, energy, and oil and gas.

“We all know that India has deeply changed in recent years. It is today a major global economy, which grows at high rates and has many complementarities with Brazil," said the president. He pointed out that Brazil is also undergoing transformations. “The resumption of economic growth requires Brazil to be actively present, not only internally but also in the world's major markets, including India”.

At the meeting, it was agreed that Brazilian missions will be sent to India in order to expand relations in defence, agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry. The two leaders also discussed environmental initiatives, and the shared positions held regarding the need for improvement in international rules and institutions.

Michel Temer invited the Indian Prime Minister to come to Brazil for an official visit. “His presence in the Brazilian State would be extremely welcome by the Brazilian people, but particularly by our government," he said.