Minister for Food Processing Industries Meets Governor of Mato Grosso, Brazil

The Minister of Food Processing Industries, Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras held a bilateral meeting with the Governor of the state of Mato Grosso of Brazil, Mauro Mendes Ferreira here today. The meeting was attended by Additional Secretary, Shri Minhaj Alam and senior officials from the Ministry. From the Brazil side, Governor was accompanied by H.E. Kenneth Nóbrega, Ambassador of Brazil to India and other senior government officials of Brazil.

Both the sides discussed about the historic relationship both the countries enjoy which goes back to over 70 years. The recent high-level interactions and visits are testimony to both side’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, and this momentum needs to be continued, sustained, and further strengthened. Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras highlighted that the Prime Ministers of our respective nations had very productive meetings on the sidelines of G7 Summit as well as G20 Summit.

Governor Mauro Mendes Ferreira emphasized that India is a key strategic partner for Brazil and Brazil commends as well as congratulates the visionary steps taken by the government to foster development in India. Governor Mauro Mendes Ferreira also applauded the recent success of Indian space missions and the strong performance of India’s food processing, pharma, and energy sectors.

Shri Paras inquired about the status of agri food production in Brazil in accordance with the Agro-climatic in general and in specific to the state of Mato Grosso. Brazil officials expressed their interest in expanding their export of Soybean, Corn, Cotton, poultry meat etc. to India in the near future.

Both sides acknowledged the strategic importance of each other to foster food security. India as one of the largest producer of Agri Food and Brazil as one the largest exporter of food can work towards ensuring food security for the world. Brazilian side highlighted that the bi-lateral trade between the two countries has expanded by 32% to US$15.2 billion in 2022.

The two sides discussed synergies and exploring possibilities in further collaboration and co-ordination in the food processing sector particularly in terms of exchange of goods and human resource. Both sides agreed to continue to work in partnership with each other to facilitate even greater exchange of goods and ideas.