ASEAN, Brazil expand cooperative ties

Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil Carlos Alberto Franco França recently hosted a reception for Ambassadors of members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brasilia.

At the meeting, the Brazilian minister highly valued ASEAN as the fifth leading economy of the world and the core of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is the largest free trade area globally.

With 10 member countries and a population of 660 million, ASEAN is a potential market for Brazil in particular and Latin America at large.

ASEAN nations recently approved Brazil’s nomination to become the organisation’s Sectoral Dialogue Partner, the minister said, adding that the move will foster the relations between Brazil and one of the most dynamic regions in Asia.

As President of the ASEAN Committee in Brazil, Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Thi Kim Hoa expressed her gratitude to the Brazilian minister and government for creating optimal conditions for activities of the group of ASEAN Ambassadors in Brazil, especially amid difficulties brought by COVID-19.

ASEAN is currently the third biggest trade partner of Brazil, which joined the Treaty Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 2012.

The Latin American country’s new status as ASEAN’s Sectoral Dialogue Partner is hoped to facilitate the sides’ trade in farm produce, defence products and civil aviation, as well as investment and development cooperation./.