In Modi, Lula meet: Climate change, defence cooperation, security council reform

On Sunday, Modi and Lula expressed disappointment over the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reform which have not produced tangible progress. They agreed that the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process that aims to achieve concrete outcomes in a fixed time-frame, a joint statement released by the two countries stated.

The leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. President Lula congratulated Modi for India’s successful G20 presidency and pledged to collaborate closely with India during Brazil’s G20 tenure, beginning December 2023.

Construindo um Mundo Justo e um Planeta Sustentável. Esse é o lema da presidência do Brasil no G20. Ações que nos guiam nas ações do governo federal no nosso país e agora à frente do G20.

📸 @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/OTPK1BjJS1

— Lula (@LulaOficial) September 10, 2023

As per the statement, the leaders welcomed the consecutive presidencies of developing countries in the G20, “which elevates the Global South’s influence in world governance.”

They reaffirmed their commitment to comprehensive reform of the Security Council including its expansion in the permanent and non-permanent categories, with increased representation of developing countries in both, to improve its “efficiency, effectiveness, representativeness, and legitimacy” in order to better meet contemporary challenges in international peace and security.

They reiterated their mutual support for their countries’ permanent membership in an expanded UNSC. Modi welcomed Lula’s announcement of Brazil´s support to the Indian candidature for non-permanent seat of the UNSC for the 2028-2029 term.

The leaders welcomed the increased defence cooperation between India and Brazil including participation in military exercises, exchange of high-level defence delegations, and substantive industry presence in each other’s defence expositions. The leaders encouraged the defence industries from both sides to explore new collaboration avenues and commence joint projects to co-produce technologically advanced defence products and build supply chain resilience.

The joint statement stated that the leaders acknowledged the urgency of a fair and equitable energy transition.

“They noted the vital role of biofuels and flex-fuel vehicles in decarbonizing the transport sector, especially in developing nations,” it said, while commending bilateral initiatives in bioenergy, involving both governmental and private sectors, and celebrated the establishment during India’s G20 presidency of the Global Biofuels Alliance, of which both countries are founding members.

The leaders recognized that climate change represents one of the greatest challenges of our time that needs to be addressed in the context of sustainable development and of efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger and committed to broadening, deepening and diversifying their bilateral cooperation on climate, as well as their joint efforts towards a strengthened global governance under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its Kyoto Protocol and its Paris Agreement.

“They also pledge to work together to ensure that the UNFCCC multilateral process from COP28 to COP30 paves the way for a course-correction on climate, while uniting the international community around the ultimate objective of the Convention and the goals of its Paris Agreement, in the light of equity and the best available science, taking into consideration the gravity and sense of urgency emanated from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).”

They reiterated their determination to enhance the multilateral response to climate change in a way that also tackles inequalities within and among countries, including by working closer together within the Group of 77 and China and the BASIC Group of countries.

The statement mentioned that India welcomes Brazil’s presidency of BASIC and fully supports the Brazilian prospective presidency of the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP30), in 2025.

The countries also agreed to increase joint projects in partnership with ISA (International Solar Alliance) and CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) in third countries.

The leaders reaffirmed their resolve to increase cooperation in sustainable agriculture and rural development, including at the multilateral level, with the aim of safeguarding food and nutritional security of both countries and of the world.

“They underscored the need for open, unimpeded and reliable food supply chains and called upon the international community to ensure that agricultural trade is not affected by unilateral restrictions and protectionist measures, duly taking into consideration the Multilateral trade rules,” the statement stated, adding that they expressed satisfaction over the formation of Joint Technical Committees to facilitate trade in agriculture and animal husbandry products.

Acknowledging the recent increase in bilateral trade and investment, the leaders agreed that economic exchanges between Brazil and India have the potential for further growth, taking advantage of the scale of their respective economies and the potential for forging industrial partnerships.

The leaders agreed to work together for the expansion of India-Mercosur PTA during Brazil’s Mercosur Presidency, to leverage the full potential of this economic partnership and welcomed the establishment of the India-Brazil Business Forum.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the IBSA Forum, the leaders vowed to foster higher-level dialogues among the three IBSA partners and affirmed the strategic significance of IBSA in safeguarding and advancing the interests of the Global South on the global stage.

Over the recent BRICS Summit in South Africa, the leaders acknowledged its positive outcomes, particularly the renewed and strengthened support for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the invitations extended to six countries to become full members of BRICS.