Portugal and Brazil sign 13 bilateral agreements at the 13th Luso-Brazilian Summit

Prime Minister António Costa underlined the "importance of today, where after seven years interrupted, we have resumed the annual summits between Portugal and Brazil".

"We resume these summits in the second visit President Lula da Silva makes to Portugal and the first to Europe", António Costa went on, explaining that the date was picked by the Brazilian Head of State because 22 April sets the arrival of the first Portuguese to Brazil in 1500.

These positions were shared by António Costa at the press conference that closed the 13th Luso-Brazilian Summit in Lisbon, where the President of Brazil Lula da Silva was by his side.

The Prime Minister stated that by signing 13 legal instruments, Portugal and Brazil have a lot to work on together.

"We have moved forward concretely with these instruments, where the most important has to do with people, the Brazilian communities in Portugal and the Portuguese communities in Portugal, to grant anyone who completes their secondary schooling in Brazil or in Portugal to have access to higher education", he said.

Secondly, the Prime Minister noted the fact that "a very old process to do with setting up the Portuguese School in São Paulo was freed up, and acknowledgement of the training offered at the school by the Brazilian educational system."

António Costa also highlighted an important step taken towards the mutual recognition of driving licences, "which is absolutely crucial for anyone moving from Portugal to Brazil or anyone moving from Brazil to Portugal not having to repeat their driving exam".

"I also wish to emphasise the agreements on witness protection and cooperation in fighting racism and xenophobia, for the protection of human rights and democratic values, namely in the Portuguese language digital space", he noted.

Economic relations 

Another dimension deemed important by António Costa has to do with straightening economic ties between Portugal and Brazil. 

"These relations are now strengthened by the fact that the landing stations for the major fibreoptics cable linking the entire South America to Europe is between Portugal and Brazil, between Sines and Fortaleza. This is a factor for mobilising the economy, based on traffic data and which must be boosted on both sides of the Atlantic", he said.

On the economic and defence field, the Prime Minister spoke about "a new willingness" that will be reflected on the economic forum held in Porto on Monday.

Next, "we will be able to fly onboard the KC-390, the first plane delivered to the Portuguese Air Force under our bilateral cooperation, to land at the OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico – Aeronautical Material General Workshop) headquarters", he said.

In Alverca, also in the presence of Lula da Silva, a "new agreement to adapt another Embraer aircraft, the A-29 Super Tucano" will be signed.

«Portugal will host the entire process to train pilots in Europe and Africa to fly the Brazilian fighter plane", he added.

Another point stressed by António Costa concerns the cooperation agreements between AICEP and the Brazilian Agency for Foreign Trade. "It is a highly significant instrument to encourage partnerships between Portuguese and Brazilian companies, as well as the agreement signed between Portugal and Embratur, as well as the agreements signed in the field of geology and energy".

In terms of energy, the Prime Minister claimed this is one of the areas where Portugal has invested heavily in Brazil. "In the next few years, EDP and GALP will invest 5.7 billion euros to develop energy projects in Brazil", he declared.

"EDP produced recently the first molecule of green hydrogen in the whole of Latin America, in the State of Ceará, and this tightening of the ties in the field of hydrogen boosts Brazil’s production capabilities and the role Portugal can play as a gateway of that hydrogen into Europe via the port of Sines", he said.

Other domains

António Costa claimed that the summit allowed both countries to move forward in a series of important domains to leverage future relations, whether from the point of view of people or the economy, and offered as examples "the agreements signed in the field of culture for cinema production, in the field of science, for both the space agencies and the research projects in biomedicine, the policies for disabled persons and the Lisbon Charter for health and the promotion of good health practices and prevention of global crises, such as the one the world recently faced with the Covid-19 pandemic. These are new areas, inspiring areas that open the door to many future developments". 

The Prime Minister also said "this summit allowed us to strengthen the cooperation between Portugal and Brazil on a multilateral level, under the CPLP – Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, the relations between the European Union and Mercosul, and under the United Nations, where we both hope Portuguese will one day become official language and where we both agree it is fundamental to strengthen the UN-based governance level on a global level to ensure the goals in the fight against climate change are met".

On ending his speech, António Costa praised "Brazil’s new willingness to take full and effective part in the CPLP, which would forever be incomplete without Brazil as a fundamental country, seeing that it is the country with most Portuguese speakers on a global scale".

The Brazilian President Lula da Silva said he feels at home in Portugal. "For us, Portugal is not a foreign country, it is an extension of our home called Brazil. That is how we need to engage, without disputes or differences, because the differences are solved on a negotiation table". 

For Lula da Silva, "the great art of politics is learning how to live democratically in diversity", and as such, "what we did here today with the agreement on health, education, disabled persons is very noble in the Brazil-Portugal relations".

At the end of the summit, the Portuguese Prime Minister and the Brazilian President issued a joint statement: "Portugal and Brazil, a partnership for the future".