State Visit to Mexico by the President of the Republic of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff – Mexico, DF, May 26-27, 2015 – Joint Statement

At the invitation of the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, the President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, made her first state visit to Mexico on May 26 and 27, 2015.

President Dilma Rousseff had a meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto and will address the Legislature.

1. This visit consolidates a new stage of cooperation between Mexico and Brazil, two countries that, besides being the largest economies in Latin America and the Caribbean, have shown themselves to be promoters of economic and social development in the region. Therefore, on this visit, presidents Rousseff and Peña Nieto expressed their commitment to continue working together to promote greater prosperity, both in the two countries and in the region.

2. The presidents and their delegations had a fruitful and constructive dialogue, discussing the main issues on the bilateral, regional and multilateral agendas. They confirmed their desire to promote a new impetus in the bilateral relationship so as to strengthen their political dialogue, diversify economic ties and revitalize cooperation.

3. As a demonstration of their shared will to deepen and strengthen cooperation for their mutual benefit, the leaders witnessed the signing of various legal instruments in priority areas such as investment, agriculture, the environment, tourism, air services, and fishing; and also between the two countries’ development banks (See Appendix).

4. Both countries expressed agreement with the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments, an instrument that creates a favorable legal framework for promoting the two-way flow of investment between Mexico and Brazil. This agreement will help to improve conditions for Mexican companies seeking to invest in Brazil, and for Brazilian companies seeking to invest in Mexico.

5. The two countries are convinced of the importance of the two largest economies in Latin America working together in negotiations so as to increase their trade flows.

6. Both countries have an interest in developing customs cooperation so to facilitate bilateral trade.

7. In order to ensure the preservation and sustainable use of the two countries’ vast natural resources, they strengthened cooperation in the areas of conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources, and sustainable development.

8. Similarly, they made cooperation arrangements with regard to fishing, aquaculture and tropical agriculture – the latter issue being of great importance to eight states in the southeast of Mexico.

9. Brazil and Mexico discussed their shared interest in continuing to promote tourism as a generator of economic development, given the array of natural, historical, cultural and gastronomic resources which make the two countries leaders in their region in terms of tourism. They highlighted the positive trend towards greater numbers of tourists and acknowledged that there is still great potential to further increase the flow of visitors – the reason for which they upgraded the cooperation framework with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between their respective tourism bodies. Similarly, the mechanisms for cooperation in the area of ​​air services were updated, which will contribute to greater and more efficient mobility for tourists, businessmen and students.

10. In the cultural sphere, future exhibitions on historical and artistic heritage were announced, along with editorial cooperation projects aimed at publishing Mexican literary works in Brazil and Brazilian works in Mexico.

11. With regard to public security, the two countries will proceed with cooperation schemes and with the exchange of information and best practices in combating organized crime and promoting peace in the region.

12. The leaders welcomed the holding of the III Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Belén, Costa Rica, on January 28-29, 2015, and reiterated their commitment to this mechanism for dialogue and political consultation which allows common solutions to shared solutions to be identified. They also emphasized the importance of the II CELAC-EU Summit to be held on June 10-11 in Brussels, expressing their hopes for the success of the event and for the strengthening of the bi-regional relationship.

13. Both countries reiterated their commitment to working together in adopting the new, post-2015 development agenda of the United Nations, seeking to ensure that it is ambitious, transformative, and combats the structural causes of poverty, inequality and environmental degradation by protecting and promoting human rights, the rule of law, social and economic inclusion, and environmental sustainability. They reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the agenda, including through the follow-up and review arrangements under the auspices of the High-Level Policy Forum.

14. Furthermore, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to contributing constructively to the success of the negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in order to adopt a new agreement that is effective, fair and ambitious during the next Conference of the Parties to be held in December 2015 in Paris.

15. Brazil expressed its support for Mexico as pro tempore president of the Alliance for Open Government, an initiative of which both countries are founders and active promoters. The two leaders expressed their interest in strengthening bilateral cooperation on issues of transparency, access to information, and combating corruption.

16. The Brazil-Mexico Business Seminar was held, during which agreements were signed between the two countries’ private sectors and trade-promotion agencies, aimed at substantially increasing business promotion (See Appendix).

17. The issues relating to trade and to Tequila and Cachaça were the subjects of separate statements.

Mexico, D.F., May 26, 2015

APPENDIX:

List of international acts signed in the context of the state visit.

1. Complementary agreement to the Basic Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the United Mexican States for the implementation of the project “Training of Specialized Technicians in Agriculture, Livestock and Tropical Forestry for the Development of the Tropical Zones of Mexico: Production Technology and Plant Certification for Tropical Nurseries”.

2. Memorandum of Understanding between the Environment and Renewable Resources Secretariat of the United Mexican States and the Environment Ministry of the Federative Republic of Brazil for Cooperation in Conservation Areas and the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development.

3. Agreement on Cooperation and Facilitation of Investments between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the United Mexican States.

4. Memorandum of Understanding on Fishing and Aquaculture between the Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministry of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food Secretariat of the United Mexican States.

5. Air Services Agreement between the United Mexican States and the Federative Republic of Brazil.

6. Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation between the Tourism Ministry of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Tourism Secretariat of the United Mexican States.

7. Memorandum of Understanding between the National Bank for Foreign Trade, S.N.C. (Bancomext) and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).

8. Memorandum of Understanding between ProMéxico and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).

9. Memorandum of Understanding between the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investmentand Technology (COMCE) and the National Confederation of Industry (CNI).