Speech by Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota on the occasion of the signing ceremony of the Declaration of Intention of Brazil to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of the ASEAN - Bali, November 16th, 2011

(original em inglês)

Your Excellency Ambassador Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia,

Your Excellency Ambassador Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN,

Distinguished Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Member-States of ASEAN,

Ambassadors accredited to ASEAN,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by expressing the heartfelt solidarity of the Brazilian people for the unfortunate loss of lives caused by heavy floods in Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia.

I would also like to express my great satisfaction to be in Bali on this historic occasion that opens a new chapter in the strengthening of relations between Brazil and ASEAN.

I am aware that Bali is a place of special significance for ASEAN since it hosted the first ASEAN summit in 1976, when the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia was adopted by the five founding members of the Association. This island is now also a landmark for Brazil’s cooperation with this important Association.

Minister Natalegawa,

It was with great honour that I received your invitation to come to Bali today for this historic ceremony that marks Brazil’s intention to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia - the first Latin American country to do so. It is, in fact, the first time a Brazilian Foreign Minister is invited to take part in an ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. And that happens only a few months after we accredited our first Ambassador to the Association.

I am also grateful to the Secretary-General of ASEAN for his firm support to Brazil’s purpose of establishing closer relations with this Association.

This could not have been possible without the warm welcoming we received from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all ASEAN Member States, to whom I am indebted.

With the important step that we take here today, our relations gain momentum, benefiting from the already favorable contacts being made bilaterally – such as the recent meeting between President Dilma Rousseff and Singapore`s Prime-Minister, Lee Hsieng Loong, early this month, in Cannes – and through FEALAC and the MERCOSUR-ASEAN dialogue.

Today, Brazil has resident Embassies in seven of the ten ASEAN capitals. Very soon, with the establishment of the Embassy of Singapore, ASEAN countries will also have the same number of Embassies in Brasilia.

With a territory twice as large and a population of only one third of Southeast Asia`s, Brazil`s GDP is comparable to that of all ASEAN countries combined. On the other hand, Southeast Asia is a trading powerhouse much greater that Brazil, with international exchanges in goods broadly five times larger than ours (2010: Brazil = US$ 383.6 billion; Southeast Asia = US$ 2 trillion).

If considered as one economic entity, ASEAN would be the ninth largest economy in the world; the third largest consumer market; the fifth largest trading bloc;and the tenth largest in attracting Foreign Direct Investment.

As President Dilma Rousseff noted in her speech at the Boao Forum last April, Latin America is the second most dynamic region in the world in terms of economic growth; Asia being the first. Trade between Brazil and Southeast Asia has largely benefited from that dynamism, reaching US$ 13.3 billion in 2010 – an increase of more than 350% from the beginning of the decade. Taken as a whole, ASEAN would have been the sixth largest trade partner of Brazil last year.

Investment flows have also flourished during the past decades. In Indonesia, for instance, a country with which we have a strategic partnership, investment in the mining sector by Brazil`s Vale company amounts to US$ 2.4 billion, and creates more than 3.000 permanent jobs.

Our businessmen are certainly not intimidated by the long distance between Brazil and Southeast Asia. As we hold this ceremony, an important Brazilian business delegation from diverse sectors takes part in the first “Brazil-ASEAN Trade, Investment and Partnership” seminar.

Brazil and Southeast Asia also share common perspectives on many important issues of the international agenda, such as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the promotion of sustainable development with a view to the eradication of poverty. The International Conference Rio+20, to take place in Brazil in June, 2012, will be an opportunity to strengthen international efforts to promote sustainable development with social justice. It will be a remarkable opportunity to chart the road to follow for the next twenty years, as important as the Bali Road Map of 2007. We hope to have the attendance of all ASEAN leaders in Rio in order to achieve political commitments at the highest level.

I notice as well that Brazil takes part in several important international groupings with ASEAN countries, such as the G-20 at the WTO (together with Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia); the G-20 (with Indonesia, permanently; ASEAN itself, as an observer; and Singapore, usually invited as the Global Governance Group representative); the G-77 (with all ten members); and the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries (with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia).

Excellencies,

From its inception, with the 1967 Bangkok Declaration, and until its more recent developments, such as the 2007 Chart, ASEAN has made an invaluable contribution to stability and progress in Southeast Asia. It has also helped building bridges between relevant international actors, thus showing the concrete benefits of cooperation.

Today ASEAN plays an increasing role in important international fora and is ready to contribute to the redesigning of global governance, which is one of the major issues on the international agenda. In this context, Brazil will read with great interest the Joint Statement on the ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations, to be issued by the Leaders at this 19th Summit. We also welcome the establishment of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, an inspiring initiative to further strengthen regional security and stability.

Brazil is a country with a long tradition of peace and friendly relations with all countries. We have no enemies and we are privileged to live in the first nuclear weapons free zone in the world. We have been consistently committed to the respect of international law and to the strengthening of multilateralism.

Domestically, Brazil has achieved important milestones in terms of democracy, social inclusion, solid macroeconomic fundamentals, and regional integration. These achievements have strengthened our self-confidence and renewed our determination in the pursuit of ever more ambitious domestic development goals and more inclusive patterns in the international sphere.

We are implementing a large infrastructure modernization program and carrying out the most ambitious oil exploration project worldwide, which will enable us to strengthen our energy security. At the same time, we maintain our commitment to the continuous use of renewable resources in our energy matrix – already one of the cleanest in the world, with around 46% of clean resources. Our breakthroughs in agricultural research to foster food security are widely recognized and stimulate us to share their benefits with other countries and regions, such as Southeast Asia. We are also investing in further enhancing our human resources. President Dilma Rousseff recently launched the “Science Without Borders” Program, with the aim of offering scholarships to 75.000 [100.000] Brazilian students and researchers to study in foreign universities.

Brazil is also firmly engaged in promoting the development of political and socio-economic integration mechanisms in South America. The results achieved so far make us very confident. Trade relations have develop significantly and within MERCOSUL we are taking important steps in order improve the functioning of our customs union. MERCOSUR’s structural adjustment fund is now financing a number of development projects that already add up to more than US$ 1 billion. It is helping to reduce asymmetries among the member countries and revitalize their infrastructure. At the same time, we are strengthening our political cooperation in the scope of Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and are committed with the consolidation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

Excellencies,

These are the credentials with which Brazil presents itself today as a partner to ASEAN. I am confident that by fostering our cooperation with ASEAN, major progress can be made for the benefit of our societies and our respective regions.

Hopefully, Brazil may soon engage in these promising joint endeavors in the condition of a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN.

I am also confident that the results we achieve will stimulate MERCOSUR to resume its dialogue with ASEAN. I am convinced that the two processes – Brazil-ASEAN and MERCOSUR-ASEAN – are mutually reinforcing and should be carried out together.

It is thus with great enthusiasm that Brazil engages in the strengthening of ties of friendship and cooperation with ASEAN by signing this Declaration which expresses our intention to accede to the Treaty of Amity of Cooperation in Southeast Asia. We are honored to join efforts with this distinguished group of countries, and I personally expect a great deal of results from the process we are setting in motion today.

Thank you.