Lula inks deals on defense, education, agriculture with Vietnam
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday (Sep. 25) welcomed the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Mihn Chinh, at the Itamaraty palace, the headquarters of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, in Brasília. During the meeting, representatives of the two governments signed four bilateral agreements.
In a statement to the press after the assembly, President Lula said he had accepted an invitation to go to Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, in 2024 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Vietnam.
The first document signed was an educational cooperation agreement which, President Lula said, is expected to facilitate student mobility between the two countries. “Over 18 thousand students from 71 countries benefited from the government’s undergraduate and graduate programs,” he noted.
Under agriculture, an action plan was signed to boost mutual cooperation. “It should allow us to make progress in opening up the Vietnamese market to new Brazilian agricultural products,” he went on to say.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed on defense, aimed at paving the way for exports of products such as aircraft, and a work plan was adopted for cooperation between diplomatic academies.
According to the Brazilian leader, negotiations for cooperation in science, technology, and innovation have been advanced.
Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Luciana Santos will go to Vietnam in November to hold the first meeting of the Joint Science and Technology Commission. “There is potential for joint initiatives in artificial intelligence and startups,” she explained.
Global governance
President Lula thanked Vietnam for its support of Brazil’s request for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The issue has been a recurring theme on the presidential agenda. President Lula advocated greater representation of developing countries in multilateral forums.
“We’re two countries from the Global South committed to peace, multilateralism, sustainable development, and the fight against hunger and poverty. We want greater representation in international governance,” he declared.
“Everyone knows what Brazil has been doing for a long time so we can have more active, representative global governance with more decision-making power—especially when it comes to conflicts, or the climate issue,” the president added.
Trade
It was the first visit by a high-ranking Vietnamese official to Brazil in 15 years. In addition to the bilateral agenda, the representatives discussed regional issues, such as bringing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Mercosur closer together.
Vietnam’s interest in signing a trade agreement with Mercosur was on the agenda, President Lula reported. He pledged to raise the issue with South American partners, taking advantage of Brazil’s presidency of the bloc.
“It’s in our interest to bring Mercosur closer to ASEAN. The countries of Southeast Asia account for almost 6.5 percent of the world’s GDP in purchasing power parity. Brazilian exports to Southeast Asian countries today amount to half of what we export to the European Union,” he pointed out.
Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira is due to go to Indonesia soon to discuss an action plan for cooperation between Brazil and ASEAN.
In 2022, bilateral trade reached a record $6.4 billion. Brazilian exports totaled $3.4 billion, with imports exceeding $2.9 billion. Brazil is the main supplier of soybeans and pork, and the second largest supplier of chicken meat and cotton to Vietnam.
“Vietnam is the sixth largest market for Brazilian agribusiness products. We want to expand this flow and also diversify it, with more high value-added products,” the Brazilian president remarked.
Also on Monday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh should give a lecture at the Itamaraty palace on Vietnam’s perspectives on Brazil and the world.
