Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured yesterday at the Sao Paulo Business Meeting that Brazil has become “a very attractive destination for investments” due, among other factors, to “the policies implemented by the Government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Sánchez spoke these words during the inauguration of the Spain-Brazil Business Meeting, organized in the Brazilian economic capital by the Secretary of State for Commerce, through ICEX and the economic and commercial offices of Spain in Brazil and in collaboration with the CEOE and the Chamber of Commerce of Spain. The event brought together 140 Spanish companies, 120 Brazilian companies and nearly 350 attendees. The President of the Government was accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Cuerpo.
In his speech, the head of the Executive – who yesterday completed the second day of his tour of South America, which will conclude today in Chile – stated that Brazil is “a friendly country in human terms, an ally in politics and a partner in the economic” and that maintains “excellent economic and commercial relations” with Spain “exemplified by its deep business ties.”
Likewise, he recalled that Spain is the second largest world investor in Brazil, only behind the US, and the second destination of Spanish exports to Latin America, a situation that is “no coincidence”, because Brazil “is a very attractive destination.” for investments due to multiple factors, including the policies implemented by the Lula da Silva government.”
In this sense, Sánchez assured that both countries register a similar economic evolution (“Spain led the growth of advanced economies in 2023, 2.5%, exceeding, like Brazil, all expectations”) and agree in defending the energy transition and the decarbonization of the economy as an attraction for international investments. For this reason, he highlighted the collaboration between the two countries in the field of ecological transition, the green economy and the protection of the Amazon, which “represent a unique opportunity.”
During the Business Meeting, as reported by ICEX, Spanish companies were able to learn about the investment and business cooperation opportunities that are opening up in Brazil, especially in the state of Sao Paulo (the economic and financial engine of Brazil and the most developed state in the country, with a third of the national GDP), in the energy, institutional, engineering, telecommunications, legal, logistics, port, aeronautical, construction and consulting sectors, among others.
The official inauguration was also attended by Silvio Costa, Minister of Ports and Airports of Brazil; and Juscelino Filho, Minister of Communications of this country. Likewise, it included a dialogue table moderated by Xiana Méndez, Secretary of State for Commerce of Spain and president of ICEX, in which participated, among others, José Luis Bonet, president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; Marcos Madureira, president of the Official Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Brazil; Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE; and Trinidad Jiménez, president of the Brazil-Spain Chamber of Commerce.
Sao Paulo Metro
After this event, Pedro Sánchez visited the expansion works of a Sao Paulo metro line, the largest civil project in progress in all of Latin America and which is led by the Spanish company Acciona.
Finally, he held a meeting with the Association of Spanish Scientists in Brazil (ACEBRA) at the Cervantes Institute in Sao Paulo, in which he was able to learn first-hand about the activity carried out by Spanish scientists in Brazil. Precisely, during Sánchez’s trip, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) and the Research Support Foundation of the State of Sao Paulo (FAPESP), the largest public research institution. powerful of the country. Spain is Brazil’s third collaborating country in the scientific field.
