Brazil and India agree to boost cooperation on rare earths

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil and India sealed a deal Saturday on critical minerals and rare earths, enhancing cooperation on crucial resources between two major countries of the global south as they seek to diversify their trading relationships.

The non-binding memorandum of understanding on rare earths establishes a framework for cooperation between the two countries, focusing on reciprocal investment, exploration, mining and artificial intelligence applications, among other issues.

Brazil has the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earth minerals, used in a wide range of products, including smartphones, electric vehicles, solar panels and jet engines.

“Increasing investments and cooperation in matters of renewable energy and critical minerals is at the core of a pioneering agreement that we have signed today,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told journalists.

The two countries also agreed legal frameworks on a range of topics including entrepreneurship, health, scientific research and education.

Lula arrived in India for a state visit on Wednesday that will last through to Sunday, seeking to deepen ties with India which, like Brazil, is a founding member of the BRICS+ bloc of developing nations. He participated in a summit on artificial intelligence.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Brazil in July last year, while the trip to India was Lula’s second state visit.

Lula was accompanied by 11 ministers, including those of foreign affairs, finance, health and agriculture, as well as a large delegation of business leaders. The Brazilian leader on Saturday said it may be the biggest delegation of his trips abroad so far, which he called a sign of his commitment to India.

The deal on rare earths is part of a broader strategy from both India and Brazil to become more strategically autonomous from China and the U.S. through diversification, said Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university.

Brazil has been pursuing that strategy for years, said Stuenkel, which is why Lula was able to stand up to President Donald Trump last year when the U.S. leader imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports to the country over the trial of his ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

“The reading is that, given how turbulent and unpredictable things have become, the more partners, the better,” Stuenkel said.

The U.S. later removed most tariffs on Brazil and the sanctions imposed on the judge who was overseeing the case.

Roberto Goulart Menezes, an international relations professor at the University of Brasilia, said that last year’s confrontation with the U.S. is when Brazil germinated the idea of putting rare earths and critical minerals on the bargaining table.

“Brazil began to reposition its understanding of the importance of these elements beyond their commercial dimension, recognizing their geopolitical relevance,” said Goulart.

Lula is expected to visit his counterpart in Washington D.C. in the coming months. “For Brazil, this agreement represents a kind of pilot before negotiating with a country with which Brazil has an asymmetrical relationship,” Goulart said.

From left, Indian President Droupadi Murmu, left, with her Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, center, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pose for a photograph during the ceremonial reception of Lula da Silva, at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, walks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a photo call before their delegation level meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shakes hands with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, upon his arrival at the Indian Presidential Palace for his ceremonial reception in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, walks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a photo call before their delegation level meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon his arrival at the Presidential Palace for his ceremonial reception in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team won its record-breaking 11th gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday, with at least one more good possibility when its men's hockey team wraps up the action on closing day with the title game against Canada.

The trio of Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran and Chris Lillis gave the U.S. the record by capturing the American team's second straight title in mixed aerials.

The 11th gold breaks the country's mark set at the last Olympics on U.S. soil — in Salt Lake City in 2002, which has long stood out as a turning point for a winter sports program that had struggled over previous decades.

This could end up being another turning point, not so much for the sheer number of medals but the variety of places from which they came: Twelve of the 17 sports disciplines represented in the Winter Games produced medals for the U.S.

“Our focus and our strategy has always been about breadth,” said Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “We want to win in everything. We want to make every sport better. Some could argue there are countries that go a mile deep in certain sports and really dominate. Our goal has been to improve Winter sport across the board.”

The aerials medal, then a bronze in speedskating from Mia Manganello later in the day, lifted the U.S. to 31 overall for the Olympics with one day left.

That's second to Norway, which had a record 18 gold medals and 40 overall through Saturday evening. Seventy-two percent of the golds came in the endurance sports of cross country, biathlon and Nordic combined. The biggest gold-medal hauls for the U.S. came in four disciplines — two each (18%) in Alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, figure skating and speedskating.

There are 38 more medal events on the program this year than there were in 2002. A lot of the new events have come at the snowpark — halfpipe, slopestyle and big air — which used to be America's domain but has now been taken over by Japan, which, for instance, won nine medals in snowboarding, compared to two for the U.S.

“We stated we wanted to be a podium nation,” Fin Kirwan, the USOPC's chief of Olympic sport, said of the U.S. goal of being top-three on the medals table. “We said it will likely take 30 medals and we got after it. The athletes delivered on their potential and, by turn, we hit the record on gold-medal performance, which shows that our very best were able to execute.”

Here are some looks and links to the rest of the 11 U.S. gold medal winners:

Halfpipe skier rounds out his Olympic collection — gold, silver, bronze. Back home, he’ll keep going with streamer “Hotdog Hans” where he dressed up like an 80-something ski sensation.

Her long journey included a knee injury four years ago on the same mountain where she won the gold.

Nicknamed “Lizard,” she joins a long line of great U.S. moguls skiers, including 2010 champion Hannah Kearney and her teammate, Jaelin Kauf, who now has three silver medals.

The 20-year-old stepped away after the 2022 Beijing Games, rediscovered her love for figure skating and happily claimed the title.

At her sixth Olympics, she finally broke through, becoming the oldest Winter Olympian to win gold at age 41.

The most winning skier of all time cashes in at the Olympics with slalom gold after a tear-stained shutout four years ago.

Joined Eric Heiden at Lake Placid in 1980 as only the second man to capture the 500 and 1,000.

Liu, Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin are among the members of a team that brings home second straight gold; the last one took two years to capture after a Russian doping saga.

A tense thriller, highlighted by Hilary Knight's equalizer with 2:04 left, then Megan Keller's winner in overtime.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Elana Meyers Taylor, front, smiles at the finish during a two women bobsled run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Amber Glenn of the United States competes during the women's figure skating free program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

United States' Kendall Coyne, left, and United States' Hilary Knight celebrate after victory ceremony for women's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Bronze medalist United States' Elizabeth Lemley wears her gold medal alongside her bronze medal after the women's freestyle skiing dual moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. Lemley won the gold medal in women's moguls earlier this week. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

United States' Breezy Johnson at the finish area, during an alpine ski, women's super-G race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

United States' Alex Ferreira reacts during the men's freestyle skiing halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Jordan Stolz of the U.S. competes to win a silver medal in the men's 1500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates winning the gold medal in an alpine ski, women's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Gold medalist Alysa Liu of the United States displays her medal after competing in the women's free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

From left, gold medalists United States' Christopher Lillis, Connor Curran and Kaila Kuhn celebrates after the freestyle skiing mixed team aerials final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)