The Minister of State for Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, is this week making an official visit to India, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Energy Research Company, and delegation of Brazilian business leaders from the biofuels, automotive, oil and gas sectors.

The visit follows the work being carried out by the governments and private sectors of the two countries, in the wake of President Jair Bolsonaro's visit to India in 2020, when three memoranda of understanding were signed in the energy and mining sectors.

The Brazilian delegation includes business leaders in the sucronergistic sector (UNICA, APLA, EXAL, Foro Sucroenergetic, Copersucar, Bunge/BP) and automotive (Volkswagen Latin America, Toyota, Stelantis and Abraciclo/Yahama), in addition to Petrobras.

In the meetings held, it was confirmed convergence of public-private interests on both sides, as well as the determination to work to deepen cooperation between India and Brazil in the energy sector, in particular in biofuels and flex fuel engines of last generation.

Brazil and its public policies and industrial capacities in biofuels and flex and hybrid engines have served as a reference for the measures that have been taken by the Indian government in these sectors, which contribute to the substantive decarbonization of the transport matrix, generating employment, income and wealth.

EPE, MME and NITI Aayog, an Indian government institution with a reference in planning and studies supporting public policies, decided to establish a joint work program to bring their energy planning closer together, as well as to foster an exchange of knowledge in biofuels policies.

India is Brazil's fifth trading partner and an important source of investments in the country's energy sector. Oil is the main product exported by Brazil to India (42% of the total exported), while fuels, especially diesel oil, account for about 20% of what the country imports from India.

Brazil-India Joint Declaration

Minister Bento Albuqueque and entourage met today, 21/4, with the Minister of Oil and Natural Gas of India, Hardeep Puri. The two ministers reviewed the entire bilateral energy agenda; exchanged views on international energy markets, in particular issues relating to global energy security and international price volatility; converged on the need to maintain the energy transition process; and discussed the perspectives that open with the continued development of India and Brazil in the coming decades, with the respective increase in energy demand and the need for diversification of sources.

The joint ministerial declaration adopted at the time lays the groundwork for a Brazil-India Alliance in Bioenergy and Biofuels, bringing relations and cooperation in these important sectors to a new level.

Ministers coincided in the broad potential for increased cooperation between Brazil and India in energy matters by combining two of the largest democracies in the developing world, endorsing with recognised industrial and technological capabilities, with vast natural resources, and a specific weight on the international energy agenda.

Ministers also committed to work to strengthen cooperation between the private sugar and automotive sectors of the two countries, with a view to consolidating not only their domestic markets, but also from a global market for sustainable biofuels and vehicles with flex-fuel and hybrid engines.

They also agreed to work together to position bioenergy and sustainable biofuels as part of solutions for the global energy transition, especially in transport, industry and other difficult-to-decarbonise sectors such as air and sea transport.

Also at the ministerial meeting, two instruments were signed between the private sectors. UNICA (Sugarcane Industry Union) and India's SIAM (Society of Vehicle Manufacturers of India) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation that provides, among other initiatives, for the launch of the Virtual Center of Excellence in Ethanol, dedicated to the sharing of best practices and information in the sector. The representative of the APLA (Local Alcohol Productive Arrangement) signed an agreement indian contrapart for technology licensing.

Minister Bento Albuquerque invited Minister Hardeep Puri to visit Brazil soon, along with the Indian mission of the biofuels and automotive sectors.

Read the full Joint Declaration here.

Source: Ministério de Minas e Energia