I sincerely hope that the intensified political dialogue between Bulgaria and Brazil will have a positive impact on the trade and economic relations as well. We seek to attract Brazilian investments to the Bulgarian economy and Bulgaria’s EU membership and the strategic nature of the EU-Brazil relationships will create additional opportunities for promoting our cooperation. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, where he held talks with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
The talks between the two presidents marked the beginning of the Bulgarian Head of State’s visit to the Federative Republic of Brazil, which will last until 3 February. This is President Rosen Plevneliev’s first visit to Latin America and the second meeting between Presidents Rosen Plevneliev and Dilma Rousseff within eight months. The talks between the two continued an hour and a half.
“Not accidentally, my first visit to Latin America starts with Brazil. The relations between Bulgaria and Brazil became more dynamic after Dilma Rousseff was elected president. The Brazilian and Bulgarian people are fond of and feel close to each other and we take pride in President Rousseff’s Bulgarian roots,” the Head of State said in a joint statement with Brazil’s president.
The President said that the talks were rich in content. “We have a strong political will to strengthen our friendly ties. Brazil is Bulgaria’s first trading partner among the Latin American countries and our priority and prospective partner in Latin America,” President Plevneliev said and highlighted the sectors of ICT, energy, pharmacy, production of car components, agriculture and food production, and education as offering good prospects for cooperation.
The two presidents attended the signing of a Social Security Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Federative Republic of Brazil and a Memorandum of Understanding between the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science and the Brazilian National Council on Scientific and Technological Development. The signing of the Memorandum will provide Bulgarian universities the opportunity to participate in the program of the Brazilian government “Science without Borders.” Our country has already nominated 10 Bulgarian universities for the exchange of students and PhD students under the Brazilian program.
Bulgaria also welcomes the fact that the Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the governments of Bulgaria and Brazil has come into force. “We hope that this Agreement together with the Social Security Agreement signed today will lead to deepening our trade and economic relations,” the President said. The Joint Bulgarian-Brazilian Intergovernmental Economic Commission will start work soon.
Bulgaria may serve as Brazil’s entrance to the EU and Brazil is our country’s natural entrance to the Mercosur countries, Rosen Plevneliev commented. Bulgaria will work so as to speed up the successful finalization of the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Mercosur, the President added. The Head of State highlighted Bulgaria as a factor of stability and development in Southeast Europe and invited Brazilian companies to make use of our country’s advantages as a logistic, trade and production center in the region.
The second largest Bulgarian community in Latin America is in Brazil and it is a natural bridge between the two countries, the President further said and voiced gratitude for Brazil’s integration policy with respect to the different national communities in the country. The President also thanked for the Brazilian state’s valuable support for the Bulgarian Antarctic program.
President Dilma Rousseff, for her part, said that the Bulgarian president’s visit is taking place within the context of the closer relations between Latin America and united Europe and will play a significant role in this process. Brazil is interested in a closer economic and trade cooperation not only with Bulgaria, but also with the EU and we are convinced that we can rely on Bulgaria’s help in this respect, the Brazilian president said.
Dilma Rousseff highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of education and science, as well as the cooperation in the Antarctic.
“The current visit is extremely important for me personally. As you know, I am of Bulgarian origin,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff further said.
President Dilma Rousseff awarded the Bulgarian Head of State Rosen Plevneliev the highest degree of the Order of the South Cruiser. The order is the highest state medal of the Federal Republic of Brazil awarded to foreigners and foreign visitors.
In Brazil the Head of State Rosen Plevneliev will present the opportunities for investments in Bulgaria to the representatives of Brazilian business in the capital Brasilia and in the economic and financial center Sao Paolo. The President will also meet representatives of the Bulgarian community in the two Brazilian megapoli.