Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived in India Sunday with a large business delegation to forge closer "strategic" and trade ties between the emerging economic powerhouses.
Lula heads a delegation of ministers, officials and 100 businessmen for the three-day visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Abdul Kalam and Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
New Delhi and Brasilia are the leaders of a group of 20 developing nations who want rich countries to cut farm subsidies in the current round of World Trade Organisation talks.
India and Brazil also make up the group of four, along with Germany and Japan, seeking a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
After a visit last year by Singh to Brazil, "the bilateral relations have been upgraded to a strategic partnership", India's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Singh and Lula are scheduled to meet with business leaders of the two countries. Bilateral agreements are also likely to be signed to boost trade, which totalled 2.4 billion dollars in 2006.
Indian companies have invested in the pharmaceutical, information technology, and energy sectors in Brazil while Brazilian firms eye selling manufacturing and consumer goods to India.