Meeting in Madrid between the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain and for Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil

The two ministers, Alfonso Dastis and José Serra, held a meeting in Madrid as a continuation of the high-level meetings between public officials from the two countries over the last five months. The President of Brazil, Michel Temer, and the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, held a bilateral meeting on the occasion of the G-20 Summit. In September last year, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil, José Serra, and the State Secretary for Trade of Spain, Jaime García-Legaz, promoted actions relating to the bilateral agenda on economic affairs at a meeting in Brasilia.

These meetings show the high level of priority attributed by Spain and Brazil to their bilateral relations and the roles both countries play in their respective international strategies.

The two ministers consider that this is a good time to step up already intense relations, founded on the basis of sound economic, trading, cultural and educational ties and on intense cooperation on defence issues and science and technology.

The two countries share an interest in enhancing political dialogue and reaching agreement on the main issues on the international and regional agenda.

The two ministers also acknowledge that there is still a great potential for growth and diversification of trade exchanges and investment. In terms of the volume of investment, Spain is the second leading foreign investor in Brazil. Among the main global economies in terms of the relationship between GDP and investment, Spain is the country that allocates the largest share of its GDP to investments in Brazil. Brazil, for its part, is among the three leading destinations for new Spanish investments abroad; bilateral trade flows continue to grow despite the economic contraction of the last year. Brazil is currently the most important market in Latin America for Spain.

For this reason, the ministers welcome the start of the event entitled "Invest in Brazil" which opened in Madrid on 23 November, to promote investment opportunities in infrastructure, logistics and energy in Brazil. The closing ceremony of the event was chaired by Ministers José Serra and Alfonso Dastis, and included the presence of Ministers Moreira Franco (Partnership Programme for Investments - PPI), Mauricio Quintella (Transport, Ports and Civil Aviation) and Fernando Coelho (Mines and Energy), as well as Roberto Jaguaribe, President of APEX (Agency for Promotion of Exports from Brazil) and the State Secretary for Trade of Spain, Maria Luisa Poncela. The aim of the event is to present projects and opportunities for new works and concessions planned by the government headed up by Michel Temer to large Spanish companies and investors, particularly to improve transport infrastructure and services, taking into account the significant competitive advantages of the Spanish private sector.

The two parties expressed their satisfaction at the recent progress made on negotiations between the EU and MERCOSUR towards an agreement on a bi-regional association. Minister José Serra highlighted Spain's role in the European Union and its interest in reaching an agreement with MERCOSUR. Brazil and Spain have decided to work together towards the successful conclusion of these negotiations.

Minister José Serra presented letters from President Michel Temer inviting His Majesty, King Felipe VI and the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy to visit Brazil. To this end, the ministers will study the possibility of establishing an agenda for high-level meetings in 2017. Meanwhile, they have instructed their ministerial departments to organise a Brazil-Spain Forum in the first half of 2017, a high-level forum focused on business and academic issues with participation from both the public and private sector.