New Delhi [India], February 12 (ANI): Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will pay a state visit to India from February 18 to 22 and participate in the 2nd AI Summit to be held in the national capital from February 16 to 20, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday.

Speaking at the weekly briefing, MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the visit is being undertaken at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

'His Excellency, the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, will be paying a State Visit to India from 18-22 February 2026. President Lula will be participating in the 2nd AI Summit, which is to be held from 19 to 20 February here in Delhi,' Jaiswal said.

He added that bilateral engagements will take place on February 21, the main day of the state visit. President Lula will be hosted by India's President and meet with Vice President and other dignitaries. A business delegation will accompany him to explore trade and investment opportunities.

'The main day of the Brazilian State Visit, bilateral talks will be on 21st February. President Lula will be hosted by our Honourable President on the 21st, and there will be several other dignitaries who will be calling on him, including the Honourable Vice President of India,' the spokesperson said.

President Lula will be accompanied by several ministers and a business delegation. According to the MEA, multiple engagements have been planned to facilitate interactions with the visiting business delegation.

Jaiswal also noted India has already announced the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron for the AI Summit.

'With this, we have made an announcement for the second leader who will be visiting India for the AI Summit and for bilateral talks,' he said.

The MEA indicated that further announcements regarding other leaders attending the AI Summit will be made shortly.

'We will be giving you more details of other leaders who are coming to the AI Summit. Hopefully, you will have that soon. It will help you in preparing your engagement for the AI Summit, as well as for you to write about how you look at international engagement in this AI Summit, which is going to be at scale here in New Delhi,' Jaiswal added.

The visit is part of Brazil's broader foreign policy recalibration, which seeks to reduce economic reliance on traditional partners such as the United States and China while strengthening engagement with emerging economies like India, as reported by Brasil 247.

Officials at Brazil's presidential palace have described the upcoming visit as one of the largest overseas missions of the current administration.

Reflecting the scale of ambition, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) opened accreditation for up to 200 business leaders to accompany the delegation. By the end of the registration process, nearly 150 private-sector representatives had confirmed their participation, underlining strong corporate interest in the Indian market.

According to Brasil 247, Brazil-India ties have been steadily gaining momentum over recent months.

In October 2025, Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who also heads the development, industry, trade, and services portfolio, visited India alongside Defence Minister Jose Mucio Monteiro. During that visit, talks were held with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on defence cooperation and sovereignty-related issues. Discussions also covered the possible expansion of the Mercosur-India Preferential Trade Agreement, which has been in place since 2009.

Political engagement has intensified further this year. On January 23, President Lula and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a phone call during which both leaders reiterated their support for comprehensive United Nations reforms, including changes to the Security Council, an issue long championed by both countries.

Concrete steps are already being taken to support the growing partnership. Brazil has recently opened a new business office in India, one of only about 20 such offices it maintains globally. The move is intended to help diversify Brazilian exports, which are currently heavily concentrated, with crude oil accounting for nearly 30 per cent of shipments to India in 2025.

Trade data underscores India's rising importance to Brazil. India emerged as Brazil's tenth-largest export destination last year, with exports totalling USD 6.9 billion, and ranked sixth among import sources at USD 8.4 billion. Although this resulted in a USD 1.5 billion trade deficit for Brazil, bilateral trade volumes recorded strong growth, with exports rising 30.2 per cent and imports increasing 21.9 per cent in 2025, as per Brazil 247.

Agriculture will also feature prominently during the visit. Brazil plans to offer technical cooperation in family farming, with a representative from Embrapa, the country's agricultural research agency, included in the delegation.

Preparations for the visit are a priority, with Brazil renting a 500-seat auditorium in India for two days to host meetings between President Lula and Indian business leaders. The objective is to highlight investment opportunities and encourage greater capital inflows into Brazil.

Beyond economics, the visit carries clear political weight. Brazilian officials see the India outreach as reinforcing President Lula's image as an influential global leader seeking to assert Brazil's interests in an increasingly competitive international environment. (ANI)