Continuing her three-day visit to Brazil, President Pratibha Patil will address the country's Senate and oversee the signing of four bilateral agreements, including an extradition treaty, before leaving for Mexico on the second leg of her three-nation tour.
On the second day of her visit, Patil had an early morning meeting with a business delegation at the Federation of Industry of the State of Sao Paulo during which she discussed ways and means to boost the bilateral trade.
During the meeting in Sao Paulo, in which a 14-member Indian business delegation accompanied her, the President said, "Both sides have the acumen, desire, will and the skill to take (the trade relation between the two countries) forward".
It was the suggestion of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that the President should meet the FIESP delegation during her trip to Brazil, said Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri.
During the meeting with the Brazilian trade delegation, the two sides, while noting that bilateral trade touched $3.12 billion, agreed that the figure was nothing going by the opportunities the two countries have.
"We want Brazilian companies to take advantage of the opportunities in infrastructure development, which has a scope of $500 billion," Puri said appreciating Patil's move in engaging both sides in discussions.
Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry Nalin Surie said the country has a lot to learn from Brazil in agriculture, especially in harvesting, storage and hybrid varieties. "The discussions were a good beginning. The President has herself taken the initiative for underpinning the economic cooperation," he said.
The President would be travelling to Brasilia, where she will address the Senate and later meet Brazilian Chief Justice Gracie Northfleet.
Before leaving this Latin American country for Mexico, Patil will oversee the two countries inking four agreements which includes an extradition treaty and a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of oil and natural gas.
Under the extradition pact, the two countries will agree to extradite any person against whom an arrest warrant is issued by a competent court for a crime, which is punishable in both the countries with imprisonment for at least one year or a more severe punishment.
"In case of financial or revenue-related crimes, the extradition may take place even if both the countries do not have the same penalty for the crime," the agreement read.
The other agreement was aimed at strengthening the bilateral cooperation and establishing the institutional cooperative relationship between the two countries on oil and natural gas development.
Besides these two, the two countries will also be signing an MoU for agriculture and allied sectors and in civil defence and humanitarian assistance.
The President is of the opinion that both India and Brazil were large and growing economies with enormous opportunities for further rapid growth.
"Our natural synergies and economic complementarities can be exploited to mutual benefit. Over the past few years, our captains of industry have shown increasing confidence in each other and I am confident that you will also break new ground and define new frontiers of collaboration," she said in her meeting with the business delegation.
