(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM))
brasília, 18th june, 2023 (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.
Furthermore, Al Hashimy met with Ambassador Maria Laura de Rocha, Secretary General of Brazil's Foreign Affairs, Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, Secretary for Climate, Energy, and Environment, Carlos Duarte, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, and Sidney Leo Romero, Director of the Middle East Department. Both sides expressed their shared commitment to enhance the strategic partnership and to further expand bilateral relations to new areas of cooperation.
The Brazilian Navy and EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defense groups, have signed a strategic partnership and cooperation agreement for the development of state-of-the-art, long-range, anti-ship missiles. The agreement was signed in the presence of Al Hashimy, Saleh Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to Brazil, dignitaries from the Brazilian Navy led by Fleet Admiral José Augusto Vieira da Cunha de Menezes, and Managing Director and CEO of EDGE Mansour AlMulla, at an event celebrating the Brazilian Navy's Commemoration Day in Brasilia. The partnership underscores the two sides' mutual ambition to be at the forefront of innovation and explore export opportunities to key global markets.
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 addition, Al Hashimy met with Minister of EnergyAlexandre Silveira, wherein the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy Between the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Brazil'sMinistry of Mines and Energy was signed. The two sides explored areas for enhanced trade and investment. The meetingwas attended by various UAE companies such as Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Masdar, and DP World.
With the UAE as host of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) this year, the two countries expressed their shared commitment to working together to address the challenges of climate change and to building a sustainable future for generations to come. In addition, the UAE welcomed the announcement of Brazil's bid to host COP30 in 2025.
Saleh Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to Brazil, hosted a dinner in honor of Al Hashimy and Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous People, wherein Al Hashimy affirmed the UAE's commitment to the values of tolerance and coexistence and stressed the importance of using the knowledge and values of indigenous peoples to achieve sustainable development and to protect biodiversity.
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.