Minister Lipavský Visited Brazil as Part of his Tour of South America
Minister Lipavský Visited Brazil as Part of his Tour of South America
11.04.2024 / 09:16 | Aktualizováno: 11.04.2024 / 09:19
Two cities, two meetings with representatives of the Czech community and five official ministerial meetings. All this was part of the visit of the Head of Czech Diplomacy, Jan Lipavský, to Brazil from 8 to 10 April 2024.
"My trip is the first by a Czech foreign minister in more than 20 years. I am convinced that my visit to Brazil has helped the further development of mutual relations. The motto of the Brazilian government is 'Brazil is back', and let me paraphrase this motto and stress that 'the Czechia is back in Brazil'," said Minister Lipavský about the visit.
Jan Lipavský's tour of South America's largest country began on Monday, 8 April 2024, in the capital Brasília, with talks with Brazil's Acting Foreign Minister and Secretary of State, Maria Laura da Rocha. The main topics of discussion were the intensification of cooperation in the fields of cybersecurity, defense, as well as culture.
On Tuesday, the head of the Czech diplomacy headed for a meeting with the Vice President of the Brazilian Government, Gerald Alckmin, who also serves as the Minister of Development, Industry and Trade, the Minister of Women's Affairs, Aparecida Gonçalves, and the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Arthur Cerqueira Valerio.
"Brazil is our traditional economic and political partner, and our trade with Brazil is the largest in the entire South American region. Czech imports to Brazil reached a value of 698.3 million US dollars in 2023," Lipavský described the meeting in the capital with his Brazilian partners.
An important motive of the trip was also the commemoration of the President of Brazil and founder of the capital, Juscelino Kubitschek. The head of Czech diplomacy therefore visited the memorial dedicated to this politician with Czech roots and also met his great-grandson.
Wednesday's programme took place in Brazil's largest city - Sao Paulo. During the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Relations of the State of Sao Paulo, concrete ideas for cooperation in the field of trade, innovation, science and research were presented. Lipavský also discussed further possibilities of strengthening economic ties between the Czechia and Brazil with the leadership of the Federation of Industry of the State of Sao Paulo and the director of the Czech Trade foreign office in Brazil.
Two key meetings were held with Czech compatriots, representatives of Czech companies in the country and other representatives of the Czech community, both in Brasilia and Sao Paulo. "Thanks to all the compatriots who work to preserve the Czech language, culture and traditions. Meeting them is evidence that the legacy of Czechs in Brazil is in good hands," said Minister Lipavský.
The Minister's trip to South America does not end with his visit to Brazil. The successful first half will be followed by a programme in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, from 10 to 12 April 2024.
