Brazil welcomes Bangladesh's interest in trade agreement

Both sides recognised the potential of this agreement to boost business opportunities and deepen private sector engagement between Bangladesh, Brazil, and other MERCOSUR member states, thereby fostering South-South cooperation.

The ministers affirmed their commitment to initiating negotiations for the PTA at the earliest opportunity.

MERCOSUR, initially comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, expanded with Bolivia gaining full membership in 2023.

Their discussions, held at the state guesthouse Jamuna in Dhaka, also celebrated the signing of the Agreement on Technical Cooperation between Bangladesh and Brazil even as this marked the first-ever foreign minister-level visit from Brazil to Bangladesh.

The ministers held extensive talks on bilateral relations, regional initiatives, and multilateral cooperation, focusing on areas such as science, technology, agriculture, livestock, education, climate change, energy transition, and technical cooperation.

They hailed the forthcoming signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sports Cooperation as a testament to the enduring bond between their nations.

Foreign minister Hasan highlighted Bangladesh’s interest in joining BRICS, a sentiment echoed by his Brazilian counterpart, who acknowledged Bangladesh’s potential to contribute significantly to BRICS discussions as a voice of the Global South.

During his visit, Mauro Vieira paid respect at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and engaged in discussions with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina even as he also attended a lecture on Brazil’s G20 priorities and met with business leaders, further strengthening the bilateral ties.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DR)