Admission of Brazil as an ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil received with satisfaction a letter from the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mr. Lim Jock Hoi, informing that the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting agreed to grant Brazil the status of Partner of Sectorial Dialogue of the bloc.

The Brazilian Government welcomes the Foreign Ministers' decision and awaits its formalization at the bloc's Summit meeting, scheduled for next November, with a view to further strengthening Brazil's relations with ASEAN and its member countries. Procedures should now be initiated in coordination with the Secretariat of the Association, to advance in the implementation of the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership.

ASEAN, the representative bloc of one of the most dynamic regions in the world, is a key partner for the Brazilian economy. The bilateral trade flow increased by 91% between 2016 and 2021, from USD 15.1 billion to USD 28.9 billion. In the first half of 2022, it amounted to USD 16.6 billion, an amount 21.3% higher than the value recorded in the same period of 2021.

ASEAN, whose headquarters are located in Jakarta, is an economic and political organization that brings together ten member states in Southeast Asia. Its objective is to promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitate economic, political, security, educational and sociocultural integration among its members and with partner countries.