Foreign & Public Diplomacy

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.

The highlights this week: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva kicks off an Asia tour in India, another Peruvian president is impeached, and Uruguay celebrates the world’s longest carnival.

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief.

The highlights this week: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva kicks off an Asia tour in India, another Peruvian president is impeached, and Uruguay celebrates the world’s longest carnival.

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Middle Powers Meet in New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to Brazil and Argentina last year, and this week, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is leading one of the largest-ever Brazilian delegations to India, including 11 government ministers and hundreds of business leaders. The trip marks Lula’s second to the country during his current term.

Brazil and India share membership in several multilateral groupings, but their bilateral relationship has long underperformed its potential, according to Hari Seshasayee, an expert on India-Latin America relations. “India has had a ‘neighborhood first’ policy for many years,” he told Foreign Policy.

Unlike its engagement with Africa, India does not convene regular summits with Latin American countries, nor has it produced a strategy white paper for the region that is comparable to those issued by China or the European Union. Although Indian trade and investment in Latin America have grown in the past decade, the private sector has led that effort.

That dynamic now appears to be changing. Since returning to office in 2023, Lula has sought to deepen ties with Asian partners. This accelerated after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed some of his steepest tariffs on Brazil and India, which turned to each other to diversify their partnerships.

Increased cooperation is already underway. Ahead of Lula’s trip, Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer signed an agreement to manufacture aircraft in India, and Brazil’s health minister announced new funding to import Indian components for so-called smart........

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