Notícias
Visit of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck – São Paulo and Brasília, May 13-16, 2013
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck, will make a visit to Brazil between May 13-16. The German Head of State has a scheduled working meeting with President Dilma Rousseff in the city of São Paulo on the 13th, when the two presidents take part in the opening ceremony of the 31st Brazil-Germany Economic Meeting, an event traditionally organized by the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Mr. Gauck will be the first German president to open a bilateral economic meeting, and his visit to Brazil is his first international travel with an entrepreneurial delegation.
During the meeting, the presidents will address the improvement of bilateral flow of trade and investments, the strengthening of ties between Brazilian and German SMEs, the initiatives of cooperation in science, technology and innovation, the German support to the Science without Borders Program, the partnership in renewable energy and the participation of Brazil as Guest of Honor in the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair.
The heads of state will also address themes of the regional and multilateral agenda, including prospects for the Mercosur-EU negotiating process and the outcomes of the international economic and financial crisis.
Also on the 13th, President Gauck will attend a concert by Brazilian and German musicians at the Theater of São Paulo, where he will launch the German year in Brazil 2013-2014. The goal of this initiative is to promote several cooperation projects among governments, companies, universities and the civil societies of the two countries, emphasizing the strong and diverse bilateral ties.
Brazil is the main trading partner of Germany in Latin America. Bilateral trade has grown threefold over the past ten years, from $ 6.96 billion in 2002 to $ 21.5 billion in 2012. Today it accounts for 22% of the trade with the European Union.