The Brazilian Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary General for International Cooperation, Trade Promotion and Cultural Themes, Santiago Irazabal Mourão is on an official visit to Budapest to attend the 3rd Hungary-Latin America Forum (15-17 November) and the fourth session of the Hungarian-Brazilian Joint Committee.

A meeting between the Visegrád Group countries and Brazil, chaired by Deputy State Secretary Szilveszter Bus, was also held on the sidelines of the Forum. “The meeting indicates the importance that we attribute to one of Latin America’s most determining countries, as well as pointing to the increasing interest and attention that Brazil is showing towards Europe’s best-performing region”, Mr. Bus said.

The Brazilian party praised the Government’s “Southern Opening” strategy, which it launched in 2015, the increasing Hungarian presence in Latin America, and the fact that the current Hungarian Presidency of the V4 is placing outstanding emphasis on global relations with non-EU countries. The V4-Brazil foreign affairs and trade meeting, which discussed several existing and potential fields of cooperation, is in line with these endeavours.

Brazil is one of the European Union’s most important partners in Latin America, and has been one of the EU’s nine strategic partners since 2007. The participants discussed the global problems that are affecting both Europe and Latin America, the issue of international migration and the global water crisis, as well as current security challenges.

The head of the Brazilian delegation said Brazil held the strong cohesion between the countries of the Visegrád Group, and their outstanding economic performance, in high esteem. This is one of the starting points based on which the parties would primarily like to tighten links within the fields of business relations, the innovative economy and tourism, while concentrating on sectors in which joint V4 action and promotion could be advantageous with relation to Brazil.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)