India and Brazil, on Monday, floated a forum of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to facilitate both countries achieving a bi-lateral trade of $10 billion by 2010 with the visiting  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asserting that the new world economic order cannot be negotiated without taking on board two of the most important developing nations.

The Indo Brazilian CEO Forum, which was formally formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, will include business communities of both the countries. The forum will also look at the business opportunities between the two countries.

Mr Lula said “the CEOs’ forum would stimulate bilateral trade and investment. To achieve the target, we must diversify trade which is restricted to less value added products.”

Later speaking at a joint luncheon meeting organized by CII, Ficci and Assocham, the Brazilian President asserted the growing importance of India and Brazil in international trade arena. “Big countries have to sit and bargain with us... we do not need lessons, we can teach them (developed countries),” Mr Lula da Silva said. He said the two countries had decided to step up trade from the present $2.4 billion to $10 billion by 2010.

Significantly, Mr Lula offered transfer of bio-fuel technology developed by Brazil to India, besides help improve India’s farm productivity. He said India can contribute in the pharmaceutical sector, and that both countries can cooperate in the engineering sector. Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said India and Brazil have already emerged as the strong voice of developing nations in the WTO trade negotiations.

Brazilian Foreign Trade Minister Miguel Joao Jorge Filho said that  Brazil said that Brazil and India have lot of business opportunities in pharmaceuticals, bio-fuels, IT, food processing, automobiles parts, mining, civil aviation, medical equipments, infrastructure and railway equipment.

Preferential trade
Earlier, inaugurating a business seminar on India and Brazil, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath announced that both the governments have set a bilateral trade target of $10 billion by 2010.

“As such Brazil has already emerged as India’s largest trading partner in Latin America with bilateral trade crossing the record two billion dollar mark in 2006,” he said.

Referring to the partnership between India and MERCOSUR, of which Brazil is a part, Mr Kamal Nath revealed that following the conclusion of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in March 2005, India and MERCOSUR have agreed to give tariff concessions, ranging from 10 per cent to 100 per cent to the other side on 450 and 452 tariff lines respectively.

The PTA will come into force as soon as ratified by the legislatures of Brazil and Argentina, he said. Later,  Mr Kamal Nath had a separate bilateral meeting with the Brazilian Foreign Trade Minister Miguel Joao Jorge Filho.
During the meeting both the Ministers underlined the immense scope for increasing bilateral trade and investment given the huge opportunities that the two countries offer to each other.  Mr Kamal Nath also had a separate interaction with the Brazilian business delegation.

ONGC, PETROBRAS INK PACT
New Delhi, DHNS: State-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited  (ONGC), on Monday, entered into an agreement with Petrobras of Brazil on swapping of interests in exploration of offshore blocks in India and Brazil.
This agreement marks an increased presence of ONGC Videsh Limited’s (OVL)—the overseas subsidiary of ONGC — presence in Brazil and the entry of Petrobras into India.

The agreement was signed by ONGC Chairman R S Sharma, OVL CEO R S Butola and Petrobras President Jose Sergio Gabrielli De Azevedo in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva here.

Last year in September, Petrobras had accommodated OVL to explore oil and gas in Brazil by waiving its right of pre emption in the offshore block BC-10 in favor of OVL. Consequently, a 15 per cent interest in the block was transferred to OVL.  Thereafter, both ONGC and the Petrobras had entered into a MoU to jointly participate in the oil and gas exploration in Brazil, India and third countries.  Monday’s agreement is a first step towards the strategic partnership, OVL CEO Butola said.