Brazil and Israel have declared their intention to triple their current of trade, to more than US3 billion, during the current visit that the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pays to the country.
“We will triple trade between Israel and Brazil by 2015” Paulo Skaf, president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo, said at a conference in Jerusalem attended by the Brazilian president, Israeli President Shimon Peres and a group of Israeli and Brazilian business leaders. Brazil is Israel’s largest trading partner in Latin America, with a number of large Israeli companies already exporting to Brazil.
Lula da Silva, whose main goal of this visit is to promote Middle East peace and diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program, urged Israeli businesses to invest in Brazil, citing the country as one of the fastest growing in the world coming out of the downturn with growth of more than 5% forecast for 2010.
“I am launching a new investment plan in soon and I invite Israeli companies to take an active and significant part. Israel is known for its strong capabilities in technology and science. Thus, we encourage intensive cooperation with Israel.”
Earlier, the Brazilian leader had announced to President Peres that Brazil had given its final approval for a free trade agreement between Israel and the Mercosur bloc - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Israel is the first country outside South America to sign a free trade agreement with the bloc.