Kingdom of the Netherlands
Contacts between Brazil and the Netherlands date from the shared history of the Dutch presence in northeast Brazil, in the 17th century. Diplomatic relations were established in 1828 following Brazil’s Independence, with the signing of the “Treaty of Friendship, Navigation and Trade between the Brazilian Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.” In the past decades, bilateral ties, especially in the economic and commercial fields, were strengthened and became dynamic.
The most recent meeting between the heads of government of Brazil and the Netherlands was held in 2019, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. The latest bilateral meeting of foreign ministers took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, in September. The Dutch have a close affinity for Brazil, which is based on common values and political interests. Given Brazil’s both growing importance and role in the regional and international scenarios, the Netherlands recognize the country as an important actor in the stabilization and modernization of South America and in the establishment of a new paradigm of economic growth.
The economic foundation of the Brazilian-Dutch partnership has been the supporting pillar of bilateral relations. Brazil is a traditional and important trading partner and a destination for significant investments. The Netherlands are the largest market for Brazilian exports in Europe and the fourth-largest market in the world, behind only the United States, China and Argentina. The already established bilateral trade surplus increased significantly in favor of Brazil in 2018, when the country exported nearly US$13 billion (5.45% of its total exports) and imported US$1.6 billion, which accounted for a US$11.3 billion surplus - the largest surplus with a European partner.
The main Brazilian exports to the Nertherlands have been oil-drilling or oil exploration platforms, soy bran and residues from soybean oil exports, steel tubes and pipes, iron ores, and cellulose. The top Brazilian import categories are: fuels, manufactured goods, and cast iron, iron and steel for construction. The Port of Rotterdam is the principal point of entry for Brazilian goods into Europe.
Brazil’s weight is also reflected in the large and constant flow of bilateral investments. The stock of Dutch investment in Brazil totaled US$120 billion. In 2017 alone, it was nearly US$11 billion of an estimated total of US$75 billion invested in Brazil that year. Large Dutch companies, including Shell, Unilever, Heineken, AkzoNobel (Coral paints), Makro, KLM (operating direct flights to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza), Phillips, Boskalis, and Arcadis (dredging and management/construction of ports), and financial institutions (ABN Amro Bank and Rabobank), have a strong interest in Brazil.
The number of Dutch companies on Brazilian soil grew from 50, in 1995, to more than 150, in 2013. In the past few years, the Netherlands's strategy for investing in Brazil has consisted of acquiring Brazilian companies and establishing new firms. KLM (which launched in 2018 three weekly flights to Fortaleza) invested nearly €250 million to replace Brazilian airline GOL’s fleet with new Embraer aircraft. In 2017, Heineken expanded its presence in Brazil as it incorporated Brasil Kirin (Schincariol) and made an investment of more than US$700 million. Shell is the second largest oil producer in Brazil and has plans to invest US$2 billion per year until 2021. The company also operates in the field of renewable fuels and concluded a joint venture with Cosan. In addition, the Port of Rotterdam has signed a partnership with the Port of Pecém (in Brazil’s state of Ceará) for investments of nearly €75 million.
It should also be noted the increasing presence of Brazilian companies in the Netherlands. Petrobras, Embraer, Braskem, Bertin Agropecuária, Cutrale, Perdigão and Seara Foods are some of the Brazilian enterprises investing in the Netherlands.
Although it has an area 205 times smaller than the Brazilian territory, the Netherlands is a key actor in the international agricultural trade. The country continues to be the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products, with main exports including plants and flowers, meat, vegetables, greens, and dairy products. This position, however, does not necessarily imply any disputes with Brazil. A great deal of its production does not compete with agricultural products from Brazil, and the resistance of the local agricultural sector to the opening of the domestic market would thus derive from the interests of Dutch entrepreneurs in other sectors. In addition, the Dutch experience in precision farming and in the management of water resources and irrigation has brought the two countries closer together.
Bilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation has great potential for growth and offers opportunities for development in addition to initiatives under way through the creation of innovation-oriented public-private partnerships between companies, academic institutions and the government. Knowledge creation is considered fundamental to the country's high competitiveness in the international arena, which is why the Dutch government plans to increase the share of resources allocated for research and development, from around 2% of GDP in 2015 to 2.5 % of GDP in 2020.
The meeting of the Brazilian-Dutch Joint Commission on Science, Technology and Innovation, which is held biennially since 2011, has been an occasion to deepen discussions of primary issues and to promote direct contact between major Brazilian and Dutch entities in the sector. In line with these contacts, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Keijzer visited Brazil in August 2018, when she signed an instrument with a view to prioritize the following areas: natural disaster prevention, nanotechnology, space research, sustainable cities, bioeconomy, life and health sciences, high-technology systems and materials, defense and security, biodiversity, and circular economy.
Chronology of Bilateral Relations
2019 – Bilateral meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Ernesto Araújo and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Stef Blok, on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly (September 26)
2019 – Signing of Air Service Agreement with the Netherlands and Air Service Agreement with the Netherlands with regard to St. Maarten (Brasilia, July 8)
2019 – Bilateral meeting between President Jair Bolsonaro and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the 14th G20 Summit Meeting, in Osaka (June 28)
2019 – Bilateral meeting between President Jair Bolsonaro and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, in Davos (January 24)
2015 – Bilateral meeting between President Dilma Rousseff and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the 7th Summit of the Americas, in Panama City (April 11)
2014 – The Chief of Staff Minister of the Secretariat for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency, Marcelo Neri visits the Netherlands (November 27)
2014 – Vice President Michel Temer visits the Netherlands on the occasion of the third Nuclear Security Summit (March 23-26)
2013 – The Chief of Staff Minister of the Civil Aviation Secretariat, Wellington Moreira Franco, visits the Netherlands. Signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in air transport (December 9)
2013 –Minister of Foreign Trade Lilianne Ploumen visits Brazil (November)
2013 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio de Aguiar Patriota visits the Netherlands (July 4)
2013 – Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker visits Brazil (June 22-26)
2013 – Brazil's Chief of the Navy, Admiral Júlio Soares de Moura Neto, visits the Netherlands (July 19-22)
2012 – Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima visit Brazil (November 19-23)
2012 – The Chief of Staff to the Brazilian President, Gleisi Hoffman, visits the Port of Rotterdam. She leads a delegation including the National Secretariat of Ports Chief of Staff Minister, Leonidas Cristino; and the President of the Brazilian Planning & Logistics Company, Bernardo Figueiredo, among others (August)
2012 – Princess Máxima visits Brazil at the invitation of the Brazilian Central Bank, due to her role in the UN and the G-20 in the area of Financial Inclusion (January 7-10)
2012 – Minister of Infrastructure Melanie Schutz van Haegen visits Brazil accompanied by a business delegation. Signing of memoranda of understanding on cooperation in the areas of ports, maritime transportation, and logistics; and on the construction of a port in Presidente Kennedy (Brazilian State of Espírito Santo) (April 9-13)
2011 – Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Trade Henk Bleker visits Brazil accompanied by a business delegation. Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Science and Technology Cooperation (November 28-30)
2011 – Enactment of law establishing the Year of the Netherlands in Brazil, in celebration of the centenary of modern Dutch immigration to Brazil
2010 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen visits Brazil (April)
2009 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits the Netherlands (March)
2009 – Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende vistis Brazil (March 2nd)
2008 – Visit by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (April)
2007– Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of Political Consultations Mechanisms (January 16)
2007 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Bot visits Brazil (January 16)
2005 – Princess Máxima visits Brazil (November 28 to December 1st)
2004 – Minister of State Hans van Mierlo visits Brazil on the occasion of the celebrations of the 4th Centenary of the Birth of Maurice of Nassau (June 17)
2003 – Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, and Princess Máxima visit Brazil (March 24-29)
2000 – President Fernando Henrique Cardoso visits the Netherlands (October 9-10)
1998 – Prime Minister Win Kok visits Brazil (November 27 to December 1)
1998 – Crown Prince Willem-Alexander visits Brazil (August 23-26)
1998 – Crown Prince Willem-Alexander visits Brazil (March 8-15)
1998 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Hans van Mierlo visits Brazil (March 9-11)
1998 – Vice President Marco Maciel visits the Netherlands (February 8-10)
1997 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Luiz Felipe Lampreia visits the Netherlands (April 6-8)