Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni met today with Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira, ahead of the imminent EU-CELAC (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños) summit and VII Italy-Latin America and Caribbean Conference scheduled for Milan next week.
The meeting centred on principal dossiers regarding regional policies, economic cooperation, the EU-Mercosur talks – concerning which Gentiloni reasserted Italy’s strong interest in concluding a trade agreement – and opportunities for bilateral synergies owing to Brazil’s participation in EXPO. Italy is that country’s second-ranked trade partner and boasts more than 900 branch offices and factories operating there. The two ministers also discussed further investment opportunities in the sectors of energy (particularly renewable) and infrastructure, as well as in the traditional automobile and telecommunications industries. Another of the meeting’s themes was the status of – and Brazil’s potential interest in – an Italian manufacturing system composed of small and medium-sized enterprises and industrial clusters.
At the end of the meeting, Minister Vieira invited Minister Gentiloni to make a visit to Brazil in 2015 to further examine the positive economic dynamics the two nations already enjoy.
