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Strategic Lens

Multilateral alignment: India and Brazil

First country

Second country

Both are members of the G20 and BRICS. Their agreement score in UN General Assembly voting was 87 percent in 2023, and 79 percent on average over 2019 to 2023.

Benefits

  • BothBoth are members of the G20 and BRICS.
  • BothTheir agreement score in UN General Assembly voting was 87 percent in 2023, and 79 percent on average over 2019 to 2023.

Sources: Wikidata, statements on membership (property P463) (retrieved 26 September 2026); United Nations General Assembly voting data (Voeten, Strezhnev and Bailey), agreement scores (retrieved 25 September 2026)

Last updated on 26 September 2026

More on this relationship

Benefits

  • BothBoth want developing countries to have a place among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and use the G4 grouping to press for it.
  • BothIBSA funds poverty and hunger projects such as capacity building in East Timor and the fight against HIV/AIDS in Burundi.

Constraints

  • IndiaModi's July 2014 BRICS visit could not settle where the new bank would be based; the parties did not agree on New Delhi.

Sources: Wikipedia: Brazil–India relations (revision of 8 September 2026)

Strategic Insights

Strategic Lens

Why do India and Brazil work together in groupings more than bilaterally?

What happened. India and Brazil sit together in BRICS, the G20, IBSA and the G4, and in 2025 Prime Minister Modi visited Rio de Janeiro for the 17th BRICS summit.

  1. Both want the UN Security Council to be more democratic and representative, and the G4 was formed to pursue that.
  2. IBSA, with South Africa, produced summits from 2006 and a fund for poverty and hunger projects.
  3. In 2014 the BRICS leaders at Fortaleza agreed to found the New Development Bank.
  4. Bilateral trade was only about USD 5.6 billion in 2016 and grew to about USD 14.6 billion in 2025.

Understanding. From our lens, India and Brazil share the same position in the world order, as large developing democracies outside the main power blocs. That common position gives them joint goals in groupings, while their bilateral trade is only now catching up.

Benefits

  • BothJoint action on reform of global institutions and on development finance.

Constraints

  • BothGroupings need agreement from every member, which limits how fast joint positions can move. (our reading)

Sources: Wikipedia: Brazil–India relations (revision of 8 September 2026); UN Comtrade (public preview API), annual goods trade, HS classification (retrieved 26 September 2026)

Last updated on 25 September 2026

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