india

Updated: Nov 12, 2019 03:52 IST

The government is likely to invite Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as the chief guest at next year’s Republic Day celebrations as part of New Delhi’s outreach to South America, people familiar with developments said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Brasilia on November 13-14 to attend the Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit. A formal invitation is expected to be extended when the Indian premier holds a bilateral meeting with Bolsonaro during the visit, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Modi and Bolsonaro attended the Future Investment Initiative business forum in Saudi Arabia last month and were together at a dinner hosted by the Saudi King for heads of state and government at the meeting. They were also the two heads of government who addressed the forum in Riyadh.

The people said an invitation to Bolsonaro will dovetail with the Indian government’s outreach to Latin and South America.

The choice of the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations is influenced by several factors, including economic interests and strategic and diplomatic relations. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, another key member of the Brics grouping, was invited as the chief guest after US President Donald Trump declined to attend.

If Bolsonaro accepts the invitation, it will set up his first visit to India since he assumed the office in January. He will also become the third Brazilian president to be chief guest at the event after Fernando Cardoso in 1996 and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2004.

Though bilateral trade with Brazil was worth only $7.6 billion in 2017, it has grown the fastest among Brazil’s top 10 trade partners. A large Indian business delegation is expected to be present during Modi’s visit to attend the Brics Business Forum.

Brazil has also backed India’s efforts to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation under the Brics framework. The two countries have worked closely within Brics for focused consultations on terrorism, and the Brics joint working group on counter-terrorism to constitute five working sub-groups on terror financing, use of internet for terrorism, countering radicalisation, the issue of foreign terrorist fighters and capacity-building. India is expected to chair the sub-group on use of the internet for terror.