President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received, on the morning of Wednesday 28/06, the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mélanie Joly, in Brasilia. The diplomat is in the country for the fourth meeting of the Brazil-Canada Strategic Partnership Dialogue, the main mechanism for cooperation between nations.

During the meeting, the Minister transmitted to President Lula the invitation, made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for a visit to Canada. The Brazilian president returned the invitation to Trudeau and recalled the conversation they had had during a bilateral meeting at the expanded G7 summit in late May, in Japan.

At Planalto, Lula and Joly agreed on the need to organize business missions, with the aim of expanding and reaching the potential of trade and investment relations between the two countries.

The conversation also touched on the environmental agenda, the Amazon Summit and the commitment defined in the COPs on the contributions of rich countries to the preservation of the environment in countries with large forests, in addition to the possibility of increase Canadian investment in the renewable energy sector in Brazil.

The Minister underlined the common characteristics between Brazil and Canada, both major producers of food and energy, endowed with large forests and concerned with improving the living conditions of indigenous populations.

The two men also spoke about Haiti and the need to unite the efforts of different countries in favor of strengthening security and institutions in this Caribbean country. Jolie and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira signed a broad defense cooperation agreement.

BILATERAL RELATIONS – Canada has a strong and long-standing diplomatic and commercial relationship with Brazil, which translates into frequent coordination on various regional and multilateral issues. Canada is the 13th largest trading partner and 11th largest investor in Brazil, which in turn is the largest Latin American investor in Canada and the 12th largest globally.

There are bilateral processes of dialogue and cooperation in the field of education; science, technology and innovation; military affairs; and energy and mining. There is also an increasing flow of Brazilian students and immigrants to Canada, fostered by the multiethnic and multicultural nature of Canadian society.

BILATERAL EXCHANGE – In 2022, trade between Brazil and Canada totaled US$10.56 billion, an increase of 40.9% compared to 2021. Brazilian exports reached US$5.39 billion, while imports from Canada totaled $5.16 billion. The Brazilian surplus was US$232.1 million.

Among the main Brazilian export products to Canada, the following stand out in 2022: gold; aluminum; sugar; semi-finished products, iron and steel; industrialized products and coffee. Top Canadian imports in 2022 included manure or chemical fertilizers (about 72% of the total); industrialized products; airplanes and chemicals.