FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Meetings in Hanoi yielded agreements, opening of Vietnamese market to Brazilian beef, announcement of Joint Committee on Science, Technology, Innovation
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Published in Apr 03, 2025 09:17 AM
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s official visit to Hanoi, between Thursday (27) and Saturday (29) reinforced Brazil's partnerships with Vietnam. A delegation of ministers and government representatives accompanied Lula on the trip to expand relations between the countries in different areas.
Five acts were adopted at the meetings — among them the Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategic Partnership between Brazil and Vietnam for the period 2025-2030, covering the following priority areas: politics, defense, security and global challenges; economy, trade and investment; science, technology, and innovation; climate change and the environment; education, culture, sports, tourism, and connections between peoples; consular affairs and community support.
“Brazil and Vietnam share a path of growth and development, and this commitment reaffirms our intention of building bridges, fostering opportunities and deepening strategic ties. We continue working to expand partnerships that bring concrete benefits to our country,” highlighted Brazil's minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Luciana Santos.
SCIENCE COMMITTEE — During the Brazil-Vietnam Economic Forum on Saturday (29), the minister confirmed that the first meeting of the Brazil-Vietnam Joint Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation will be held in Brazil in the second half of 2025. “For us, it will be an opportunity to define our cooperation priorities, plan actions, and begin their implementation,” stated Luciana Santos. The ministry is interested in establishing partnerships in areas such as semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence, quantum technologies, energy transition, biodiversity, food and nutritional security, and innovation environments.
TRAINING — The minister emphasized the agreements that had already been established with Vietnam as of 2023, regarding the training of specialized labor. “I want to reiterate the proposal we made in 2023 —and which we discussed last year between technical teams from both governments— to create a Brazil-Vietnam Center for semiconductors, to train and qualify human resources, in addition to research and development of components,” she said. Luciana Santos added that the ministry has the ambitious goal of training 50,000 specialists in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, including engineers and hardware and software developers. “Like Brazil, Vietnam understands that, without human resources trained to deal with the economy of the future, there will neither be growth nor sustainable development,” she concluded.
MARKET OPENING — During his official visit, President Lula announced the opening of the Vietnamese market to Brazilian beef. The decision came after a series of meetings with Vietnamese government leaders. “We are working hard on the trade relationship between agricultural products and Vietnam, and President Lula’s presence was essential for this long-awaited reopening, granting the access of Brazilian beef to Vietnamese consumers,” declared Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro.
Since the beginning of this administration, four new markets have been opened in Vietnam, and the trade of Brazilian leather has been facilitated. In 2025, Vietnam will already be the fourth largest destination for exports of Brazilian agricultural products, accounting for 3.2% of what was traded up to February, and only behind China, the European Union, and the United States.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY — Representing the Vice President of the Republic and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços/MDIC) Geraldo Alckmin, Executive Secretary Márcio Elias Rosa participated in the signing of the memorandum of understanding that creates the Steering Group for Trade and Industrial Cooperation in Vietnam. The goal is to promote economic cooperation in priority areas for trade, and to create favorable conditions for the expansion of bilateral relations.
“With the signing of the memorandum, Brazil and Vietnam renew joint efforts to strengthen the partnership in economic and trade issues. We have extraordinary opportunities ahead to advance in strategic sectors, such as high technology, digital transformation, energy transition, biofuels, environmental protection, and climate change,” highlighted Alckmin from Brazil.
In addition to establishing a mechanism that enables the strengthening of trade and the improvement of the industrial capacity of Brazil and Vietnam, one of the responsibilities of the group created through the memorandum will be to identify opportunities and diversify trade between the two countries. Plans are in motion to promote studies, training programs, and information exchange are planned.
In Hanoi, the MDIC executive secretary said that the two countries already have a significant relationship with potential for expansion. “Vietnam is currently Brazil’s largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Brazil is Vietnam’s main partner in South America. Based on this mission, the expectation is to expand this important cooperation in high value-added sectors, such as biotechnology, semiconductors, sustainable mobility, industrial digitalization, and artificial intelligence,” stated Márcio Elias Rosa.
GOAL — Recognizing economic collaboration as an essential pillar of bilateral relations and aware of the untapped potential for greater growth, Lula and the President of Vietnam Luong Cuong agreed to pursue a bilateral trade target of USD 15 billion by 2030. They also agreed to continue working to diversify trade between Brazil and Vietnam. In this sense, they noted with satisfaction the excellent business prospects in sectors such as animal protein and aircraft.
ENERGY — Also present at the Brazil-Vietnam Economic Forum, Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira highlighted the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries. Silveira addressed the intention to expand partnerships in the field of ??biofuels during the session that discussed energy cooperation. “As in Brazil, sugarcane production is relevant to Vietnam’s economy. This makes our countries very well positioned to advance in the biofuels agenda. We already have a strong commercial partnership, particularly in the case of dried distillery grains, used in the production of ethanol. But we can do more. Brazil can be Vietnam’s largest supplier of inputs for biofuels,” he stated.
The minister highlighted Brazil’s leading role with the Fuel of the Future Law (Lei do Combustível do Futuro) — a proposal by the Federal Government that improved the legal and regulatory framework for biofuels. “We are able to expand our partnerships in other areas, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), marine biofuels, and strategic minerals. We are open to sharing our experience with you, strengthening commercial partnerships and working together to decarbonize the planet's energy matrix, strengthening the new, green economy,” said Alexandre Silveira. He invited representatives from Vietnam to participate in the Global Planning Summit for the Energy Transition in June, in Rio de Janeiro, and in COP30, which will be held in November in Belém, Pará.
FURTHER ACTIONS — The governments of the two countries also signed agreements on the exercise of paid activities by employees of diplomatic missions, consular offices and permanent missions to International Organizations and on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information. During President Lula's official visit, a memorandum of cooperation was also signed between the Brazilian Football Confederation (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol/CBF) and the Vietnamese Football Federation (VFF).
Category
Brazil Abroad