Sharjah 24 – WAM: Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, led a senior UAE delegation to Brazil on 14th and 15th June 2023, to discuss the UAE-Brazil strategic partnership across various fields. The visit follows President Lula da Silva’s state visit to the UAE on 15th April 2023, which marked his first official visit to the Middle East since being elected at the beginning of this year.
During the visit, Al Hashimy met with senior officials including Chief Advisor of the Presidency of Brazil Celso Amorim, President of the Federal Senate and National Congress Rodrigo Otavio Pacheco, Vice President and the Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce, Geraldo Alckmin, and Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva. Both sides discussed collaboration across key areas, including renewable energy, science and technology, sustainable development, climate action, aviation, space, food security and agriculture, transport, and logistics. Al Hashimy welcomed Brazilian Congress approving the ratification of the Agreement on Cooperation and Investment Facilitation and the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters.
Al Hashimy delivered opening remarks for the UAE–Brazil Business Forum, wherein she commended the growing bilateral relations – non-oil bilateral trade between both countries was over $4 billion in 2022, growing by 32% in comparison to the year before – and stressed the need to continue exploring promising commercial and investment opportunities in the markets of both countries and to deepen people-to-people ties.
Moreover, discussions during the visit focused on negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the UAE and MERCOSUR. Both sides also discussed efforts to advance cooperation between the BRICS grouping and the UAE.
In line with the UAE’s dedication to fostering advances in science and technology, Al Hashimy visited the University of Brasilia and announced the UAE’s donation of USD 2 million to restore the University’s Central Library. Al Hashimy stressed the donation represented the strength of friendship and collaboration between the two nations.
Al Hashimy also attended two meetings with the Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, Roberto Campos Neto, and Tatiana Rosito, Secretary of International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, to discuss the UAE’s devotion to strengthening economic ties with likeminded partners.
Furthermore, Al Hashimy delivered a lecture on the UAE Foreign Policy at the Rio Branco Institute, Brazil’s diplomatic academy. Engaging with Brazilian diplomats and scholars, HE Al Hashimy highlighted the UAE’s foreign policy and keenness to explore opportunities for cooperation between the UAE and Brazil on matters of shared concern.
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