Envoy for enhanced trade between Pakistan, Brazil
Brazilian Ambassador to Pakistan, Olyntho Vieira, has said that Brazil and Pakistan were collaborating to expand the trade volume between the two nations.
During an interview with the state news wire service, the Brazilian envoy stressed the need for expanding businesses from both countries to look more thoroughly into the prospect of investments, joint ventures or partnerships in sectors like textiles and meat processing.
The envoy said that Brazil and Pakistan were regional giants with similar populations, common positions in many issues of the international agenda and sharing challenges such as poverty and the effects of climate change, which the two countries could fight jointly.
He mentioned these elements as the basis for the amicable and fruitful 74-year-long diplomatic relations between both countries, which resulted in warm and friendly relations.
Brazil was the first nation in South America to recognise Pakistan, in 1948, and to establish an Embassy in the country’s former capital Karachi, 70 years ago. Since that time, interactions between the corresponding governments and civil groups have intensified and increased in frequency.
The ambassador said there was much potential existed which should be harnessed between the two countries. He claimed that Brazil and Pakistan’s cooperation in the sphere of defence had been one of the most promising areas, with constant exchange of high-level visits and personnel for military courses.
In response to a query regarding trade between the two countries, the Brazilian envoy said it had been on an upward trajectory since 2018, uninterrupted even during the pandemic times. After reaching US$ 1 billion in 2020, he continued, “bilateral trade reached, according to our [Brazilian] numbers, US$ 1.3 billion at the end of 2021, up further 24.9% from the previous year.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2022