President Lula's mission to Colombia promotes the largest business meeting in history between Colombian and Brazilian entrepreneurs

This Wednesday (17) in Bogotá, Presidents Lula and Gustavo Petro are taking part in the Colombia-Brazil Business Forum, organized by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) in conjunction with the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) and ProColombia. The Forum brings together businesspeople from the largest and most promising economic sectors in Brazil and Colombia, focusing on technology and services, new industry, and energy transition and food security.

At the opening session, the president of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana, stressed the strategic nature of the event for the relations between Brazil and Colombia. "We are living through a historic moment here, made possible by the understanding of Presidents Petro and Lula, and it is up to ApexBrasil— together with the MRE, MDIC and ProColombia— to work together to take advantage of the great opportunities available in both markets." Viana added that, according to studies by the Agency's Market Intelligence department, Colombia offers more than 1,500 opportunities for Brazilian exports.

According to Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia, "we have the opportunity to unite the region, and the world needs it. Together we can make South America a powerhouse. For this, we need to increase trade between Brazil and Colombia, increasing exports and tourism". ProColombia works under the slogan "Colombia, country of beauty".

The opening session was also attended by the president of the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI); the president of SEBRAE, Décio Lima; the governor of Maranhão, Carlos Brandão; Senator Tereza Cristina; the Secretary for Trade Promotion, Science, Technology, Innovation and Culture of the MRE, Laudemar Aguiar Neto; the Executive Secretary of the MDIC, Márcio Elias, among other Brazilian authorities.

ApexBrasil has also supported handcrafts products through its Export Qualification Program (PEIEX), which has assisted at least 180 enterprises in the segment in recent years, ten of which have exported their products. In addition to the MDIC and Itamaraty, SEBRAE (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service) and the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Micro and Small Businesses (MEMP) will be working together on this export effort. ApexBrasil will also sign a cooperation agreement with MEMP on the Brazilian Handicrafts Program (PAB).

Business Forum and Brazilian-Colombian trade

In order to increase Brazil's participation in world trade, ApexBrasil, MDIC and MRE have been holding strategic meetings with different countries since last year to discuss and deepen partnerships, attract investment and promote Brazilian exports. In 2023, Brazilian exports broke historic records, registering a value of USD 339.7 billion, and the first quarter of 2024 also shows historic figures, with Brazil exporting USD 78.3 billion.

With regard to South America, the region was the third main destination for Brazilian exports in 2023. The profile of the exported products shows the importance of the region, since it is in these markets that products with higher added value find buyers.

Colombia is Brazil's third main partner in the region, with a trade flow that reached USD 6.1 billion in 2023, a level below the potential of relations between economies the size of Brazil and Colombia.

"We are here to promote bilateral trade and investment, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. Colombia is the second largest destination in the world for the internationalization of Brazilian companies of this size and that is why we invited Brazilian companies that can take advantage of the opportunities in the Colombian market to win the world," said ApexBrasil's Business Director, Ana Paula Repezza.

The Colombia-Brazil Business Forum will close this afternoon with the participation of President Lula and President Petro, and investment announcements.

Source: Apex