4 min readNew DelhiFeb 23, 2026 04:06 AM IST
A day after holding bilateral talks with PM Narendra Modi, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday that India and Brazil negotiate in a way where “no one is above the other country” and India doesn’t have the mindset of a “coloniser”.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
Referring to US President Donald Trump, Lula said he doesn’t want “a new Cold War” and doesn’t want to interfere in any other country — rather wants to have “equal relations” with all countries. However, he was cautious about commenting on the Trump tariffs, which have been struck down by the US Supreme Court, and the US President’s subsequent imposition of 15% tariff on all countries.
His remarks came at a press conference on Sunday, before he headed to South Korea from India. Lula had come to India for India AI Impact Summit and stayed on for a bilateral on Saturday. On the talks with India, Lula said, “What is really more important is that when we’re talking about negotiation with a country like India, we are not dealing with a coloniser.”
Unlike dealings with rich countries that often fail to account for happiness of individual nations, he said, “With India, it’s different.”
This balanced power dynamic, where “no one is above the other country,” stems from a mutual understanding of shared needs and attitudes, Lula said.
He noted that despite differences in religion and language, there is a profound similarity in challenges both nations face. He asserted this shared perspective makes it “much easier for us to work and to establish an action plan” and build partnerships between entrepreneurs from both sides.
“We discuss what unites us and what unites us (at) this moment is our fight — so that our economies will become stronger and we can get out of the situation that we face ourselves. We want to transform ourselves into highly developed countries… I came here to discuss a convergence between Brazil and India, and I have a lot of affinities with PM Modi, and I didn’t even discuss the details of his agreement with the US. That’s his problem, (just) as the agreement that we make is my problem. It was an extraordinary conversation.”
Story continues below this ad
President Lula said, “Brazil advocates that developing countries… should form blocs to negotiate together… we advocate multilateralism. If a small country negotiates with a bigger country, the agreement will always be harmful for the smaller country.”
Solidarity among developing nations
The Brazil President’s praise for India’s foreign policy and PM Narendra Modi indicate the strengthening of bilateral relations and solidarity among developing countries in the face of arbitrary tariffs imposed by the US President even after a strike-down by the US Supreme Court. Lula might not have said much about the Trump tariffs, but he mentioned “our fight” and forming blocs to negotiate better. The shape of things to come is now clear enough.
On tariffs, he said, “I think we made the right decisions vis-a-vis the tariff issues and some things were lowered by the government… and now the (US) Supreme Court made another decision going against what Trump was doing…” On US-Brazil ties, Lula said, “We’re the two largest democracies of the Americas. We have to shake hands… discuss what’s best for the US and Brazil.”
