Brazil – Meeting between Jean-Yves Le Drian and his counterpart, Aloysio Nunes (28 August 2017)

"Jean Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes this evening.

They will take stock of key global challenges, which involve close cooperation between our two countries. Brazil, which plays a major role in multilateral forums, is a key partner of France, especially in the fight against climate change and with respect to peacekeeping, notably on the African continent.

The two ministers will also discuss current international issues, including the situation in Venezuela, as well as the negotiations under way between the EU and Mercosur.

This meeting will provide an opportunity to underscore the importance of our relations with Brazil, with which we launched a bilateral strategic partnership in 2006. We enjoy extensive cultural and human exchanges, with almost 5,300 Brazilian students in France in 2016, more than 27,000 learners of French in the Alliances Françaises in Brazil (ranking 2nd in the world), 700 inter-university agreements and 110 dual degree programs, and almost 550,000 Brazilian tourists in France last year. We also have very strong trade links: €7 billion in trade in 2016, 850 subsidiaries of French companies in Brazil creating 500,000 jobs. France was also the 4th largest foreign investor in Brazil in 2016.

France also shares its longest land border with Brazil – with Guyana – leading to strong cooperation aimed at responding to the common challenges of security and balanced regional development."