India and Brazil signed a Framework Agreement today (January 25, 2004) at New Delhi for cooperation in the field of outer space. The agreement was signed by Mr Yashwant Sinha, Minister of External Affairs, on behalf of Government of India and Mr Celso Amorim, Minister of External Relations, on behalf of Government of Brazil in the presence of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India and Mr Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil.

Besides the Framework Agreement, an agreement on the programme of cooperation between the two space agencies was also signed. This agreement, signed by Mr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Mr Luiz Bevilacqua, President, Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), envisages Joint research in space and atmospheric sciences, exchange of proposals for remote sensing applications, launch of a Brazilian micro-satellite for atmospheric studies by India and setting up of a ground station in Brazil for receiving remote sensing data from ISRO's remote sensing satellite, RESOURCESAT-1.

It may be recalled that ISRO and AEB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in March 2002 to provide an umbrella for cooperation between the two countries in the area of space. Several discussions have been held for identifying areas of mutual interest. The Framework Agreement signed today is expected to strengthen the ties already established under the MOU and demonstrate the support of both governments.