At the closing ceremony of the Brazil-Italy Forum in the headquarters of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), Wednesday, March 29, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva affirmed that it is time for Italian investors "to drop anchor for good" in Brazil.
According to Lula, the country is ready to receive them. The president expressed interest in long-term partnerships, so that Brazilian companies can grow in harness with Italian ones.
The purpose of the forum is to drum up more business between the two countries. The business volume is still considered small, although it has grown over the last three years.
Italy is the world’s six largest economy and it occupies the fourth spot in the European Union. As one of Brazil’s important trade partners, it bought over US$ 3 billion from Brazil last year and sold Brazil over US$ 2.2 billion, mostly manufactured goods.
The event, sponsored by the FIESP and the Italian Confederation of Industry (Confindustria), brought together more than 200 Brazilian and Italian entrepreneurs.
ABr