India, which imports 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements, is interested in sourcing the commodity from Brazil under long term special contracts as both the nations explore avenues to further expand their mutually beneficial trade relationship, a joint statement by India and Brazil said on Thursday.
The joint statement is on the meeting between the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) Hardeep Singh Puri and Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque on cooperation between the two countries in energy, bioenergy and biofuels.
Albuquerque is on an official visit to India at the invitation of Puri. The Brazilian Minister was accompanied by a delegation of private sector leaders of the biofuels and automotive sectors, MoPNG said in a statement.
More bilateral investments encouraged
“The two sides recognised the importance of the robust investment in the Brazilian oil and gas sector made by Indian companies and reaffirmed their commitment to safeguard existing investments while encouraging further bilateral investments,” MoPNG said.
“The two sides highlighted the importance of bilateral trade in oil and its by-products, and expressed their willingness to expand this mutually beneficial trade. The Indian side expressed interest in sourcing crude oil under long term special contracts,” it added.
Both the leaders reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation across the entire spectrum of the energy sector and committed to enhancing the beneficial partnership between the countries, and in this context expressed satisfaction at the important role bilateral energy cooperation plays in deepening strategic partnership.
Various activities reviewed
Besides, India and Brazil also acknowledged the immense potential for collaboration between the two nations to scale up international production, and the use of sustainable bioenergy and biofuels as an important vertical of the global transition to a low carbon future.
In this context, they agreed on the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in bioenergy. To this end, the two sides agreed to work towards developing an Indian-Brazil Alliance for Bioenergy and Biofuels.
The two Ministers also reviewed the long list of bilateral and international activities and initiatives undertaken in the biofuels sectors in recent years, including the exchange of technical visits, the two editions of the Brazil-India Ethanol Talks, the Symposium on Aviation Biofuels, the launching of the joint working group on bioenergy cooperation, a roundtable on India-Brazil Collaboration in Biofuels in the automobile sector, etc.
“They also noted bilateral coordination within G-20 on Climate and Energy, BRICS Energy Ministerial, Biofuture Platform, Clean Energy Ministerial, Mission Innovation initiative and IBSA joint Working Group on energy, and the work carried out in the context of the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy,” the Ministry noted.