The diversification of trade relations, especially with developing countries, favors a new foreign policy posture on Brazil’s part. This is the view of the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, who commented that 50% of Brazil’s trade is currently with developing countries.
According to the Chancellor, the goal is not to substitute trade with the developed countries.
“To the contrary, we want trade with the developed countries to grow even more,” he explained in an interview with Radiobrás, Brazil’s state radio.
Amorim has just completed a trip to five African countries.
During the Brazilian mission’s visit, the President of Senegal, Wade Aboulaye, spoke about world trade relations.
For Aboulaye, trade among countries of the North is very intense, trade between the North and the South is less important, and trade among countries of the South is practically non-existent.
When asked to comment on the Senegalese president’s observation, Amorim responded that Brazil has reversed this logic.
“Brazil’s case is not like that. Nearly 50% of our trade is with developing countries.”
This figure, Amorim explained, does not mean replacing the markets of developed countries, in which Brazil is also interested.
“We have considerable interest in the European Union and the American market, so long as negotiations are balanced.”
Amorim views Africa as a “world to be discovered.” Currently, Brazil’s trade with the African continent amounts to around US$ 6 billion, corresponding to a 45% increase in commercial relations in recent years. “This trade is large, important, and diversified.”
In the economic sphere, Amorim emphasized the fruitful contacts that Brazilian entrepreneurs who participated in the mission made with African entrepreneurs.
According to the Minister, Brazil demonstrated its export potential in the areas of shipbuilding, port administration, aeronautics, machinery, dental equipment, and construction, among others.
The intention is to increase trade relations with the countries that were visited.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil
