Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday (July 6, 2025), to explore ways to deepen bilateral cooperation across various key sectors.

During their meeting, the two leaders reviewed ties in areas such as economic collaboration, development partnerships, fintech, capacity building, science and technology, disaster management, and healthcare.

According to an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both sides agreed to collaborate on issues important to the Global South, particularly in the domains of health, pandemic preparedness, and climate change.

They also acknowledged the strong cooperation between India and Cuba in multilateral forums.

Prime Minister Modi proposed that Cuba recognise the Indian pharmacopoeia, a move that would pave the way for greater access to Indian generic medicines.  

He also thanked the Cuban government for recognising Ayurveda and offered support to help integrate it into Cuba’s public health system.

President Diaz-Canel, recognising India’s expertise in digital innovation, expressed interest in India’s Digital Public Infrastructure and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

This meeting builds on the rapport established during their earlier interaction at the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, where Cuba participated as a special invitee.

The 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6–7, 2025, saw productive deliberations among BRICS leaders on a range of key issues, including the reform of global governance, enhancing voice of the global south, peace and security, strengthening multilateralism, development issues and Artificial Intelligence.

Prime Minister Modi addressed the inaugural session on "Reform of Global Governance and Peace and Security", and also spoke at a session on "Strengthening Multilateral, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence", which included participation from BRICS partners and invited countries.

Earlier, on July 5, 2025, Prime Minister Modi made a historic visit to Argentina—marking the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 57 years—where he met with President Javier Milei. 

The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on strengthening bilateral relations and reviewed cooperation across several strategic sectors, including critical minerals, oil and gas, defence, nuclear energy, agriculture, drone technology, fisheries, power transmission monitoring, ICT, space, digital public infrastructure, UPI, railways, pharmaceuticals, sports, and people-to-people exchanges.

They also reviewed ongoing economic cooperation and agreed on the need to diversify the trade basket to unlock the full potential of commercial engagement.

In this context, the leaders explored the possibility of expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the strategic partnership.