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Brazil-France Business Forum: Lula is determined to elevate strategic partnership with European country
President Lula at the closing session of the Brazil-France Business Forum, in Paris - Credit: Ricardo Stuckert / PR
While speaking in Paris this Friday, June 6, at the closing session of the Brazil-France Business Forum and before an audience of Brazilian and French business leaders, politicians, and ministers, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emphasized the need to strengthen relations between the two nations to expand trade flows. During the Forum, investments totaling BRL 100 billion over five years starting in 2026 were announced.
My government is determined to elevate our trade to the level of the strategic partnership with France. This is an extraordinary moment for us to strengthen our democratic, commercial, political, economic, and cultural relations”
LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
President of the Republic of Brazil
“My government is determined to elevate our trade to the level of the strategic partnership with France. This is an extraordinary moment for us to strengthen our democratic, commercial, political, economic, and cultural relations.” President Lula emphasized.
According to the Brazilian leader, the trade flow between Brazil and France, which reached US$ 9.1 billion in 2024, does not reflect the full potential of the two countries.
He noted that the Forum held in the French capital is another step for entrepreneurs on both sides to strengthen relations and open new markets.
“Initiatives like these contribute enormously to deepening the relations between our countries by placing the business sector at the center of the bilateral agenda. We are engaging the private sector in advancing strategic projects that benefit both sides. It is with this purpose that I brought ministers, governors, parliamentarians, and entrepreneurs in my delegation," Lula stated.
Hoje participei do Fórum Empresarial Brasil-França. Quero felicitar a @ApexBrasil e o @ItamaratyGovBr pela organização deste encontro, juntamente com a @CNI_br e o @medef. Iniciativas como essas contribuem enormemente para o adensamento das relações entre nossos países, ao… pic.twitter.com/kldPf52fyr
— Lula (@LulaOficial) June 6, 2025
ACCELERATING RELATIONS – Attending the event, Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade of France, highlighted that Brazil and France are experiencing a timely moment to strengthen their relations, emphasizing that much of this can be credited to the friendship and mutual respect between President Lula and French President Emmanuel Macron. “I believe we are living a favorable moment to accelerate the relations between our two countries, a bilateral Franco-Brazilian moment. This initial phase is the result of a closeness and a bond of friendship between two heads of State, which is quite rare.”
The French minister underscored that the capacity for dialogue and the intention to enable both sides to grow together are fundamental for strengthening trade. “Among the world’s top ten economic powers, France and Brazil know how to communicate and want to do their best and do more. And this is the goal of this business Forum: to bring French and Brazilian entrepreneurs together,” emphasized Laurent Saint-Martin.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Márcio Elias Rosa, Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços/MDICS), stated that the two countries must work together in search of ways to increase trade flow. “The construction of solutions necessarily involves dialogue, knowing how to listen, understanding the demands, and finding solutions compatible with the outcome we want to achieve, which is the promotion of economic development, social development with sustainability, environmental sustainability, economic sustainability generating jobs and income and alleviating inequality, and social sustainability.”
AROUND THE WORLD – Jorge Viana, President of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Agência Brasileira de Promoção de Exportações e Investimentos/Apex Brasil), organizer of the Forum, recalled that since 2023, when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva assumed his third term as President of the Republic, he has worked to restore Brazil’s image as a strong trade partner with the international community. “President Lula is institutionalizing something Brazil had lost: presidential diplomacy and the commitment to give a voice to and bring together the Brazilian productive sector all over the world. This is already the 16th business meeting that Apex, with its partners, helps to organize,” Viana recalled.
FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE-FREE – On Friday, ahead of the closing of the Business Forum, President Lula and Brazil's Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, received from Emmanuelle Soubeyran—director of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)—a long-awaited certification: the official recognition of Brazil as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. This status, sought by Brazilian producers for six decades, will enable the country—which exported 3 million tons of animal protein last year—to further expand its access to international markets.
TRADE – France is the third-largest source of direct investment in Brazil, with a stock of USD 66.34 billion. In 2024, the trade flow between Brazil and France reached USD 9.1 billion, representing an 8% increase compared to the previous year. It is estimated that over one thousand French companies operate in Brazil, directly responsible for creating around 500,000 jobs in the Brazilian market. Brazil’s export portfolio focused on primary products. France is the third-largest source of direct investment in Brazil, with a stock of USD 66.34 billion. In 2024, trade between the two countries reached USD 9.1 billion—an 8% increase compared to the previous year. It is estimated that over one thousand French companies operate in Brazil, directly generating approximately 500,000 jobs in the local market. Brazil’s exports to France were primarily composed of raw materials, while imports from France consisted mainly of manufactured goods. France ranked as the 29th largest destination for Brazilian exports and the 8th largest supplier of imports to Brazil. ranked as the 29th largest destination for Brazilian exports. Imports were mainly manufactured goods, with France being the 8th largest supplier to Brazil.
