At the end of the 5th Italo-Brazilian Council today at the MFA, Secretary General Michele Valensise announced that Brazil had signed the contract for its participation in Expo 2015, ratifying its pledge of March last.
Brazil to make a bid for Expo 2020
“A great nation for a great event”, Valensise asserted, expressing the hope that Milan would be seeing the arrival of “many firms, but also of visitors, to take advantage of all the beauty that Italy offers”. Brazil will make its contribution to the Universal Expo in sectors “in which we have made major progress, such as agricultural research, food security and energy”, his Brazilian counterpart Eduardo Dos Santos explained, announcing Sao Paolo as a candidate for EXPO 2020.
Valensise, strong interest in business cooperation
The Italo-Brazilian Council served as an opportunity to review bilateral relations, where there is already “strong interest in business cooperation”, said Valensise, adding that the desire was to “create the conditions for increased trade”. And apropos of this, he introduced the Destination Italia project, which provides for highly concrete measures for attracting foreign investments, reporting that “our Brazilian friends expressed great interest”.
Dos Santos also foregrounded “steps forward” in scientific cooperation, citing the Science Without Borders project that involves the universities and research institutes of both countries.