Remarks by Minister Carlos França at the Brazil Investment Forum - May 31st, 2021

It is a great honour to participate in the opening session of Brazil Investment Forum (BIF), which once more counts on the illustrious presence of President Jair Bolsonaro.

I present my compliments to the President of the BID, Mauricio Caver-Carone, recalling with satisfaction that the establishment of the Bank, Brazil`s traditional partner in this event, was closely and significantly related to a moment of strong industrial development in this country. I extend my compliments to the president of ApexBrasil, my colleague Minister Augusto Pestana, whom I thank for the role of leadership performed by the Agency in the coordination of the organization the BIF.

As mentioned by minister Pestana, BIF is a unique occasion for frank and fluid dialogue between Government and investors on the future of the Brazilian economy, as well as on the mutual expectations regarding important issues that affect the country`s economic growth and competitiveness. It is with great enthusiasm that I take part in this broad exchange of ideas and experiences, aimed at stimulating investments, productivity and employment growth in Brazil.

As the president of ApexBrasil has reminded, the event – which has taken place annually since 2017, a continuity only interrupted in 2020 due to the pandemic – is the largest of its kind in Latin America. All the same, I wish to echo another important point made by minister Pestana: by means of its own digital platform, this edition of the Forum seeks to combine the safety and practicality of virtual communication with the possibility of keeping a broad and effective network of contacts and dialogues, which has singled out the past versions of this event. 

As reminded by President Bolsonaro, at a moment when we focus our efforts on overcoming the pandemic, resuming growth and promoting sustainable development, the Brazilian government works towards the opening of our economy, the strengthening of legal certainty, the improvement of business climate and the transformation of Brazil in one of the most attractive countries to invest in the whole world.    

Itamaraty – also through its network of Embassies, Consulates and Trade Promotion Offices abroad – plays a fundamental role in this endeavour for modernization. Through permanent coordination with the Ministry of Economy – as well as other ministries and government agencies –, and in constant dialogue with the private sector, we work to broaden, diversify and consolidate our trade and investment flows. Our main goal is a firm and definitive integration of Brazil to global value chains, by means of bilateral, regional and multilateral negotiations and agreements that bring actual results.

Our government’s commitment – as well as that of entrepreneurs and society as a whole – to an ever stronger integration of Brazil in the international economy results in an improvement of investors’ perception, in the reduction of transaction costs, in more jobs and increased productivity in Brazil.  

In view of the concessions and privatizations under way, the State can concentrate on public policies that are essential to the Brazilian society in the post-pandemic world, allowing private national and foreign capital to become the engine of growth in infrastructure, logistics and energy. This is, may I emphasize, a very clear directive of President Bolsonaro.

The BIF will undoubtedly contribute to the efforts we lead today, as decision makers in the public and private sectors, to overcome the pandemic and resume growth and sustainable development, by means of investments in the various sections of industry, service and agribusiness, with special emphasis on infrastructure.

During the BIF 2021, we will discuss the central role of direct investment for improvements regarding a set of issues, among which:

• The relaunch of post-pandemic economy;
• The transition towards renewable energy sources;
• Innovation in agriculture and industry, induced by digitalization, in the context of the so-called New Industrial Revolution;

It also goes without saying that the development of infrastructure, both in our cities and as regards logistics and connectivity in our various regions, integrates Brazil ever deeper into international chains of production and distribution of goods and services, as well as into the networks for the mobility of people.

Following instructions of President Bolsonaro, we are committed to promoting investments, whether Brazilian or foreign, in production chains which are vital to the security and prosperity of Brazil, among which I wish to mention the health care industry, with all its associations with the priority issue of health care safety.

All over the world, we have learned last year the importance of being able to rely on the capacity of development, production and distribution of vaccines, its active pharmaceutical ingredients, and of so many other pharmaceutical and hospital items, from personal protection equipment to high-tech lung ventilators. Projects now under scrutiny in developed countries of reorganization and relocation of global value chains pose challenges, but also offer opportunities for the attraction of investments for these and other industries. These are opportunities we must seize. If we do not, others will. There will not be a vacuum in the new international production chains.

Since I took office on April 6, I have often stressed that we are working towards a comprehensive initiative regarding Trade and Health at the WTO. I have made clear that Brazil supports balanced, flexible and pragmatic positions, which aim at assuring, above all, broad and fast access to vaccines, with the most expedite abundant and equitable production and distribution possible all over the world, using the available capacity of production and transfer of knowledge and technology. It is undoubtedly a complex challenge, but Brazilian diplomacy has not hesitated in facing it resolutely, since the first moment.

This imperative, also part of President Bolsonaro’s main directives, is an important part of Brazilian economic modernization, which includes submitting and converging to the highest standards of public policy. We are, therefore, enhancing our relationship with the OECD, fostering studies based on empirical evidence and international comparative analysis. I agree with President Bolsonaro’s statement that our economy will not be modernized without being transparent and open to the world. This is the main reason for the universalism of our foreign policy.   

A valuable asset related to this universalism is the wide networking Itamaraty has built both abroad and in Brazil, which allows us to know, first-hand, the assessments of foreign investors, their motivations and concerns regarding Brazilian economy, as well as the opportunities for Brazilian business in other countries. Preserving and supporting this network is essential to foster foreign investment in Brazil and Brazilian investment abroad.

As President Bolsonaro has underlined, sustainable development is an essential element of successful economic opening and international competitiveness. Brazil has historically been a leader in this regard, by virtue of our economic choices and in view of our international commitment. Our energy grid is exemplary: our energy sector is three times cleaner than the world average. We evolved early and fast towards renewable sources such as wind and biofuels. The competitiveness of our agriculture and cattle breeding is based on both natural comparative advantage and the more intensive use of technology and science, which allows us to feed the world with safe and healthy products. Our Forrest Code was conceived to restrict excess deforestation, to stimulate reforestation and soil recovery, keeping Brazil as one of the countries with the vastest protected areas of the whole planet.

I am absolutely convinced that Brazil gathers all the necessary capabilities to be a leader as regards environmental solutions. Our environmental credentials are physical – our unique biodiversity and forest cover – and political – embodied in the commitments we have undertaken since Rio 92. As has been recently reminded by our President, we are one of the few developing countries that adopted a crosscutting, comprehensive and ambitious nationally determined contribution (NDC), with absolute emission reductions of 37% until 2025 and of 43% until 2030.

These are environmental solutions we have shared, discussed and favoured multilaterally, with a knowledge that stems from our cumulative and tested concrete experience, without ever losing sight of the national interest in the development of our country. Well-devised multilateral consensus is one of the best expressions of national sovereignty.

During the recent Summit of Leaders on Climate, President Bolsonaro made it clear that Brazil seeks a resolute international engagement in the environmental field, in which all countries undertake commitments, according to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. One of these commitments under the Paris Agreement regards the implementation of carbon markets, as a source of resources for essential investments in various fields, such as forests, industry, energy and waste management.

Not only does Brazil need to do its own part, with adequate incentives and domestic adaptations, but also other countries must meet their international commitments. Such issues are essential for the treatment of what President Bolsonaro called the “Amazon paradox” during the last Climate Summit meeting. We need to implement a sustainable development model that results in prosperity for the more than 20 million people who live in the Brazilian Amazon region, which is rich in natural and mineral resources but presents the lowest human development indicators in Brazil.

In this spirit of dialogue and collaboration, BIF 2021 will provide a broad debate of ideas in its panels, given the significant number of authorities and experts who will contribute to the discussions regarding issues as diverse as infrastructure, industry, agriculture, energy, innovation and so many others. I am sure such reflections and exchanges of ideas will translate into significant results – investment, increase in production capacity, new and better jobs. May the discussions during these two days contribute to higher standards of health care, prosperity and sustainability in Brazil.