Speech by President Lula at closing of Brazil-Vietnam Economic Forum - 03/29/2025

I would like, Prime Minister Chính [Pham Minh Chính, Prime Minister of Vietnam], to tell the people of Vietnam that this is the most productive and most important trip Brazil has made to Vietnam. I brought with me ten ministers. Some Brazilian business leaders are here, and we are signing extremely important agreements. We are also establishing that both countries will make our negotiation commissions work hard, because Brazil and Vietnam are two very large countries.

Vietnam, with 101 million inhabitants, and Brazil, with 213 million inhabitants —two economies experiencing a growing phase. We cannot be satisfied with a trade flow of merely USD 7.7 billion. We have the potential to reach USD 15 billion, we have the potential to reach USD 20 billion.

It is extremely important that we deepen commercial discussions to find similarities between our countries, establishing a more robust trade policy.

But this is not just about the commercial issue. It is important for us to deepen the exchanges between our specialists and researchers. Our universities need to communicate more with each other. We must deepen cultural relationships because Vietnam has a very rich culture, and Brazil has a very rich culture as well. We also need to strengthen our relationship in sports.

For Vietnam, it is important to have Brazil as a trusted partner, and I told Prime Minister Chính that I am not only the President of Brazil, I am a friend of Vietnam, a friend of the Vietnamese government, and a steadfast admirer of the Vietnamese people.

That is why I am happy with this meeting, and I hope that from now on, Brazil and Vietnam will not stop talking, will not stop dialoguing, and will not stop doing what we must do to improve the quality of life for the people we represent.

I am very grateful for the meeting with Prime Minister Chính, very grateful for the meeting with the President of State, the Secretary-General of the National Assembly, as well as with the House Speaker and the Secretary-General of the party.

And even more: I am very grateful for the wonderful dinner the president offered us last night, and more than just a dinner, a glimpse of Vietnamese culture, with dance, music, in an extraordinary way, and with a very friendly and beautiful people.

Ladies and gentlemen, my friends,

I was the first Brazilian head of State to visit Vietnam.

Seventeen years after my visit, I return to a radically different country.

Vietnam has grown at an average rate of 6% per year over the last two decades.

The progress in infrastructure and its technological sector has been accompanied by increased income and significant improvements in social indicators.

Geographically distant nations can find synergies and opportunities to grow together.

With only 35 years of diplomatic relations, Vietnam and Brazil are examples of this maxim.

In a time when protectionism threatens to disrupt global value chains, we are allies in the fight for a fairer international trade system based on multilateral rules agreed upon.

The decision to recognize Vietnam as a market economy, which I had the honor of announcing yesterday, is a natural consequence of the maturity of our economic relationship.

When I was here the first time, our combined trade was modest, just over USD 500 million.

At that time, we set the ambitious goal of tripling bilateral trade within three years.

We achieved this goal and have continued to expand our trade.

In 2024, the bilateral trade flow reached USD 7.7 billion, twelve times more than in 2008.

Today, Brazil exports more to Vietnam than to traditional partners such as Portugal, the United Kingdom, or France.

Vietnam is the fifth-largest destination for Brazilian agribusiness products.

We supply about 70% of the soybeans imported by Vietnam and 37% of the pork.

In the action plan we signed yesterday, we committed to reaching a trade exchange of USD 15 billion by 2030.

The opening of the Vietnamese market to Brazilian beef, announced yesterday by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, is the first step taken in that direction.

It will allow meat processors to be set up in the country, reinforcing Vietnam's role as Brazil's gateway to ASEAN.

The Southeast Asian countries account for nearly 6.5% of the global GDP in purchasing power parity.

The negotiation of a MERCOSUR-Vietnam agreement, which Brazil intends to launch upon assuming the bloc’s presidency, will also contribute to this goal.

Brazil will be Vietnam's gateway to Latin America.

Our main challenge is to diversify trade, focusing on products with higher added value.

In 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính visited the headquarters of the Brazilian Company of Aeronautics (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica /EMBRAER) in São José dos Campos, where he witnessed the high technological level and innovative capacity of Brazil’s industrial field.

The company is ready to provide Vietnam Airlines with aircraft that are ideal for expanding connectivity in Southeast Asia.

The offer includes the establishment of a training and maintenance center in Vietnam, as well as financing from Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNaDES).

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation in 2023 paved the way for partnerships in the sector.

EMBRAER's C-390 Millennium multi-mission aircraft can perfectly meet the needs of the Vietnamese Air Force.

Brazil also has technologies to share in renewable energy.

Decarbonization is not a choice; it is a necessity and a great opportunity.

We have decades of experience in biofuels, which are low-cost alternatives for the automotive and aviation sectors, and in electricity generation.

There is potential for cooperation in wind and solar energy, as well as in green hydrogen.

The private sector has an important role to play in reducing emissions and in climate financing.

During Brazil's presidency of the G20, we proposed the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (Fundo Florestas Tropicais para Sempre), which we intend to launch at COP30 in Belém.

The goal is to generate a permanent flow of financial support to tropical countries that, like Brazil and Vietnam, conserve their forests for the benefit of all humanity.

Brazil calls on all countries to submit ambitious NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) aligned with the goal of limiting global warming to one and a half degrees.

Vietnam and Brazil are already experiencing the economic effects of climate change.

We are the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, and we can achieve greater climate resilience in coffee production through technical and scientific cooperation between our⁰ two countries.

Important Brazilian companies are producing in Vietnam, in the leather, pharmaceutical and architectural services sectors.

But the volume of reciprocal investments is still not in line with the size of Brazil and Vietnam.

To change this reality, we want to start negotiating an Agreement on Investment Cooperation and Facilitation.

We can foster joint initiatives such as bilateral investment funds, strategic business missions, and collaborative research and development projects.

Brazil is creating a favorable environment for foreign companies to find a safe destination for investment.

My administration has adopted regulatory modernization policies, incentives for innovation, and public-private partnerships, which ensure legal security and predictability for foreign investors.

The results are already visible. Defying the pessimists, in the last two years, Brazil's GDP has grown by over 3%. We will continue to surprise positively in 2025.

We have the lowest unemployment rate in history.

With the decisive support of the National Congress, we approved a long-awaited tax reform, after more than 40 years.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This meeting marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation.

The extensive delegation of ministers, parliamentarians, trade unionists, and businesspeople present here reflects the importance we attach to the strategic partnership with Vietnam.

Comrade Ho Chi Minh used to say that the roots of nations are the people.

Promoting trade and investments is the best way to generate jobs, income and dignity for our societies.

Achieving these goals is the challenge I set for the participants of this Forum.

Count on me!

Thank you very much.