Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the Visit to Brazil of His Excellency Erlan Idrissov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan

1. At the invitation of the Minister of External Relations of Brazil, His Excellency Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Erlan Idrissov, made a bilateral visit to Brazil from 2nd to 3rd October 2013. They held a meeting in Brasilia, which covered bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

2. Minister Figueiredo expressed the satisfaction of the Brazilian Government with the opening of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Brasilia, the first Kazakh Embassy in Latin America. They expressed their confidence that the Embassies in Astana and Brasilia will contribute significantly to the intensification and strengthening of bilateral relations.

Bilateral agenda

3. The two Ministers highlighted the shared values and interests of Brazil and Kazakhstan, two major developing nations, with large territories and abundant energy and mineral resources, which are committed to economic development with social justice in an environment of democracy, peace, and solidarity.

4. They welcomed the process of intensification of the bilateral agenda in areas such as agriculture, sports, culture, tourism and cooperation between diplomatic academies. Both Ministers highlighted the significant potential for further cooperation between Brazil and Kazakhstan on energy issues, particularly in renewable energy.

5. They also acknowledged the potential of cooperation in the areas of science, technology and innovation, environment, space, mining and infrastructure. They recognized the need to intensify the exchange of sectorial missions with a view to raise cooperation to a level compatible with the development of both countries in various fields.

6. The Ministers identified tourism and sports as important areas for developing bilateral ties. They agreed that there is vast potential to develop sports cooperation between the two countries in the lead-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brazil.

7. The two Ministers welcomed the signing of the following Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding between Brazil and Kazakhstan: Agreement on Short-Stay Visa Waiver; Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of a Bilateral Political, Economic, Trade and Investment Dialogue; Memorandum of Understanding Between the Rio Branco Institute of the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil and the Institute of Diplomacy of the Academy of Public Administration of Kazakhstan; and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Sports.

8. They highlighted the significant and consistent growth of bilateral trade over the last years. They also agreed that there is a great potential for further increase and diversification of bilateral trade and investments. In this regard, they agreed to encourage their business communities to identify new areas for expanding and diversifying trade and investment flows, as well as exchanges in innovation, research and development.

9. The Ministers expressed satisfaction with the results of the mission of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (APEX-Brazil) to Kazakhstan in 2012 and the recent visit of the Under Secretary-General for Cooperation and Trade Promotion of Brazil, leading a business delegation to the VI Astana Economic Forum, in May 2013.

10. Minister Figueiredo highlighted the importance of the participation of Minister Idrissov in a business seminar in São Paulo, on the 3rd of October, which will be an outstanding opportunity to identify new areas for future cooperation between the business communities of both countries.

11. The two Ministers recognized the growing importance of coordination between Brazil and Kazakhstan in international fora, based on the common values the two countries share, such as the strengthening of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law and the promotion of peace and international security.

United Nations Reform

12. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the reform of the United Nations, including the reform of the Security Council, to enhance the organization’s representativeness, legitimacy, and effectiveness in the 21st century. Kazakhstan and Brazil strongly support the expansion of UN Security Council in the categories of permanent and non-permanent members and reaffirmed the objective of stepping up efforts on behalf of the urgent reform of the Security Council. Minister Idrissov reiterated Kazakhstan's support for Brazil as a permanent member of a reformed UN Security Council.

Middle East

13. With regard to the situation in Syria, the two Ministers expressed deep concern about the ongoing violence and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria. They strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons, as recently indicated in the findings of the United Nations Mission. They welcomed the framework agreement for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons reached by Russia and the United States, as well as the decision of the Government of Syria to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the commitment to provisionally apply it prior to its entry into force and the delivery of the initial roster.

14. The Ministers welcomed the announcement of the resumption of direct negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis and expressed support to the ongoing mediation efforts. The Ministers called on the UN Security Council to fully exercise its functions under the UN Charter with regard to the Palestinian question and expressed their firm belief that the Council should provide sustained support to the peace process and work towards its full and satisfactory completion. They reiterated that the resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains an urgent and key objective and a prerequisite for building a sustainable and lasting peace in the Middle East region. They once again call upon the Israeli Government to end settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which constitute a violation of international law and is harmful to the peace process.

Nuclear Disarmament

15. While noting that the continued existence of nuclear weapons constitutes a threat to mankind and to international peace and security, Brazil and Kazakhstan reiterated their commitment to the achievement of a world free of weapons of mass destruction. The two Ministers agreed that the present review cycle of the NPT, to be concluded in 2015, should result in an acceleration of the implementation of nuclear disarmament obligations under Article VI of the Treaty. In this regard, Brazil supported the initiative of Kazakhstan to advance towards the adoption, within the UN, of a Universal Declaration of a Nuclear-Weapon-free World, as an important step towards the adoption of a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

16. The Ministers regretted the postponement of the 2012 Conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction and recalled that the convening of the Conference is an essential element of the current NPT review cycle. They expressed their expectation that the Conference will be held as soon as possible. Brazil welcomes the aspiration of Kazakhstan to join the Missile Technology Control Regime.

Cyber Security

17. The Ministers expressed their deep concern about the practices of illegal interception of communications and data from citizens, businesses and members of governments by foreign governments and businesses. They condemned such practices, as they constitute serious threats to national sovereignty and individual rights, and are incompatible with the democratic coexistence of friendly countries. They also reaffirmed their willingness to cooperate in relevant multilateral fora to secure the development of appropriate international governance on cyber security.

International Economic and Financial Issues

18. The Ministers exchanged views about the challenges the financial crisis present to the economic performance of the emerging and developing economies. They welcomed the results of the 8th G-20 Summit and stressed the need for G-20 to remain focused on the core issues of addressing coordination of macro-economic policies to deal with the evolving global economic and financial situation. They highlighted the importance of ensuring greater compatibility between strategies to combat the crisis and efforts to promote growth and create jobs.

Environment and sustainable development

19. The Ministers underscored the importance of the results of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, among them the launching of the processes to establish Sustainable Development Goals as well as the creation of the High Level Forum on Sustainable Development. They shared the view that the results of the Rio+20 Conference should be the basis for the debate on the development agenda beyond 2015 and reaffirmed that the post-2015 agenda should provide
the framework for sustainable growth, inclusion, conservation and protection.

20. Recalling that participants of the Rio+20 Conference welcomed open and voluntary cross-regional initiatives, such as the Kazakhstan sponsored “Green Bridge Partnership Program”, the Ministers underscore the Program's contribution to promote sustainable development in the world.

21. They reaffirmed their countries’ commitments to support and contribute to the sustainable development of renewable and alternative energy sources, promotion of energetically effective programs and energy security.

Brasília, 2nd October, 2013