Türkiye, Brazil keen to raise trade volume to $10B

Both countries sign key agreements to strengthen cultural and political relations, Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu says following a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Franca in capital Brasilia.

Türkiye and Brazil have ties that go back more than 160 years, says FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Türkiye and Brazil have ties that go back more than 160 years, says FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Türkiye and Brazil are aiming to raise their bilateral trade volume to $10 billion and are willing to make the trade much more balanced through diversification of goods, the Turkish foreign minister has said.

"We want to mutually increase our trade volume and also our tourism activities," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference on Monday following a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos Franca in the capital Brasilia.

During the meeting, the two sides concentrated on cooperation in the fields of defence, military, culture, and education, said Cavusoglu.

Both sides also signed important agreements which will strengthen cultural and political relations, he said, adding Türkiye and Brazil have ties that go back more than 160 years.

Before the start of the pandemic, the number of tourists visiting Turkiye from Brazil was around 100,000, while this number has dropped as the countries had closings as part of the Covid-19 measures, Cavusoglu noted.

"Now our aim is to achieve this figure again and even go beyond this to reach 150,000. We want to host guests and tourists from Brazil. And we also want our Turkish citizens to visit Brazil," he said.

Sao Paulo flights of Turkish Airlines are an important motivation for that, the Turkish foreign minister said, adding that Türkiye plans for a direct flight to Rio de Janeiro as well.

On the occasion of Cavusoglu's visit, the 4th Türkiye-Brazil Partnership Commission meeting was also held.

"Brazil is our biggest trade partner in Latin America and it is a fact that we have achieved the figure of almost $5 billion trade volume," said Cavusoglu.

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Defence ties 

Cavusoglu also celebrated the second centenary of the independence of Brazil and said he is willing to host his counterpart Franca in Türkiye.

Franca, for his part, said they agreed to expand the bilateral cooperation.

"We are trying to institutionalise the infrastructure of our relations with Türkiye. We want to strengthen this institutional infrastructure in the defense industry, as well as in many different fields," he said.

Franca hailed Türkiye's intensive multilateral and bilateral contacts in the international arena, including Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which he termed "extremely important."

It was the first time that a delegation representing the Brazilian government attended this forum last month, said Franca.

On March 10, Türkiye made global headlines for hosting the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in the southern Turkish province of Antalya, the highest-level meeting of the two sides since the war began on February 24.

Franca stressed that Brazil supports Türkiye's efforts to revive the free trade agreement negotiations with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). He also thanked Türkiye for its support for Brazil's OECD candidacy.

Recalling the agreement between Türkiye and Brazil in the field of defence industry inked last year, Franca said: "With this agreement, we will be able to carry out many different studies and transfer technology. This will also increase the combat power of the Brazilian army and strengthen our infrastructure in this regard."

Cavusoglu on Sunday attended the opening ceremony of Türkiye's Consulate General in Sao Paulo. Later on Monday, he met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as part of his official visit to the Latin American country.

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