Brazil keen to strengthen ties with BD; PM to pay visit in July

Brazil keen to strengthen ties with BD; PM to pay visit in July

Dhaka, Apr 26 - Brazil, South America's most influential country, wants to strengthen its ties with Bangladesh on key fronts with a possible visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last week of July.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has invited the Prime Minister to pay the bilateral visit to Brazil on July 28.

“This is a bilateral visit. The idea is that she can launch with President Lula the global programme against hunger and then she will go to Brasilia for all the ceremonies of a full visit. So that's the idea,” said Brazilian Ambassador Paulo Fernando Dias Feres while talking to diplomatic correspondents at “DCAB Talk” at Jatiya Press Club on Thursday.

This will be the first bilateral visit of the prime minister to any Latin American country which is seen as a rising economic power and one of the world's biggest democracies.

He said Brazil is planning to open a visa centre in Bangladesh to facilitate more people-to-people contact as the demand grows by the day.

“It's getting bigger and bigger. So it's something that worries us because we think that we should have a very expedited service here in Dhaka,” the envoy said, adding that every month they are getting 250 to 300 visa requests.

“The decision has already been made and we are going to float a tender, but they are not going to do it (tender) here in Bangladesh. They're going to do it in a third country. Because the companies who provide this kind of service are international companies,” he added.

Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) hosted the event with DCAB President Nurul Islam Hasib in the chair. DCAB General Secretary Ashiqur Rahman Apu also spoke.

Following the invitation letter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka has forwarded to Brazil a proposal of an agreement to avoid double taxation which can be signed during the visit.

The Bangladesh side proposed an agreement to avoid double taxation on the salaries of people occasionally involved in technical cooperation.

Brazil Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira’s first-ever visit to Dhaka, on April 7-8 generated a lot of interest between the countries.

“We were able to sign only one document during the minister's visit, which was the framework agreement on technical cooperation. It's a very important document because in our structure, this kind of agreement allows you to do everything. Using the agreement, we will be able to go into other areas or every area. We can go into agriculture, chemical industry, we can go whatever,” the Brazilian Ambassador said.

He said they are also exploring options for signing MoU on defense cooperation.

The Brazilian envoy said Bangladesh is becoming some sort of focal point for the Brazilian investors, because as China grows more expensive, they are looking for other places.

“So they are moving to countries around China. They are in Vietnam and Cambodia now. They are in Bangladesh. But what I'm saying, because when they come here and they see things by them, so when they go back, they tell things to people in Brazil,” he said.

“One area where I think that we could have a very interesting cooperation is ethanol”, the envoy added.

And it can also be used to generate energy, he said. “It's much cheaper than oil. In Brazil, for instance, ethanol is the better option. So we have talks, ethanol talks with India, which is developing its own program. So we thought, why not do this with Bangladesh?”

The Brazilian ambassador said that it is possible to get live cattle from Brazil, but the process is "complicated". He offered meat and other support to develop the industry in Bangladesh.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, during Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira’s visit, said they have discussed the possible visit of the Prime Minister to Brazil. “There is an invitation by President Lula. There might be a visit by the Prime Minister to Brazil next July."

The Brazilian foreign minister brought a personal letter of the Brazilian president which he handed over to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during his meeting.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Lula had a meeting on August 24 at Johannesburg on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

In the meeting, the two leaders renewed commitment to a shared vision and a common goal to forge a fairer world, free from hunger and poverty, where dignity, sustainable development, prosperity, and peace prevail in the societies.

While responding to a question, the Brazilian FM said over the past decade, Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown significant social and economic achievements.

Today, he said, Bangladesh and Brazil are key players from the Global South.

"Our governments' common goal is to reduce inequality, fight against hunger and poverty and to promote sustainable development of our societies," said the Brazilian Foreign Minister.

He said the bilateral trade is equally promising, reaching almost USD 2.5 billon in 2023 and laid emphasis on diversification of trade.

He said the upcoming business meeting, to be held on Monday, will be useful for their entrepreneurs to explore new investments and opportunities.-UNB