BRASILIA, Brazil – President Cyril Ramaphosa undertook a state visit to BrasÃlia from 9-10 March on an invitation by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The visit aimed to strengthen economic cooperation and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Officials from both governments reported that discussions touched on issues including trade, investment and energy cooperation as well as collaboration in areas of mining, science, technology, tourism, and among other areas. They also discussed current global and regional issues of concern to the developing world.
The delegation led by Ramaphosa also included Ministers and captains of industry who had discussions with their counterparts in government as well as the business community of Brazil. During his visit, the South Africa-Brazil Business Forum was hosted to promote new business linkages and investments between the two states.
As the largest economy in the Latin region and, it remains a critical player in the engagement between South Africa and the Latin American continent, and bilateral trade relations between South Africa and Brazil continue to grow annually. It is reported that bilateral trade is running into billions dollars a year.
Both nations are also part of the BRICS block (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) – an association of emerging economies- and leadership utilized this visit to share ideas on collaboration in the group and other platforms representing the Global South.
