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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
I have just had very productive talks with President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Michel Temer. On both sides, we reaffirmed our commitment to developing mutually advantageous bilateral cooperation.
I would like to emphasise that Brazil is one of Russia’s key partners. Our bilateral cooperation is based on many years of friendship and mutual respect.
Our two countries established diplomatic relations nearly 190 years ago. Brazil was the first Latin American country with which Russia established official inter-state ties.
Mr Temer and I made a detailed examination of all cooperation areas today, with particular focus on economic matters.
We noted that although we saw a decrease of 11 percent in our bilateral trade last year, this year, not only has our trade recovered, but it is now growing at quite a confident pace.
We supported the ambitious programme for developing reciprocal trade flows and diversifying our import-export operations structure approved during the intergovernmental commission meeting in May.
Russian business is quite actively investing in Brazil. Total Russian investment now exceeds $1.5 billion.
Regarding the energy sector, I would like to note projects successfully underway in Brazil. Our biggest energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom are working in Brazil. Our company Siloviye Mashiny has built five new hydropower stations in Brazil and will localise production of hydroturbine equipment in Brazil.
Russian transport companies are ready to take part in carrying out Brazil’s new programme for modernising the national infrastructure. Talks are already underway on obtaining concessions for building and operating a north-south railway line.
There are promising projects in nuclear energy. The Russian company Rosatom won a tender at the start of this year to supply uranium to Brazilian nuclear power plants. The company is ready and would also like to win the contract for building a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel at the Angra nuclear power plant site in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
We have close cooperation in peaceful space exploration. An electro-optic facility to detect space junk has opened in Brazil. Four ground stations that are part of the Russian GLONASS global satellite navigation system are operating on Brazilian soil. We are studying possibilities for joint launches from a Brazilian space launch centre and the production of light and medium-class space launch vehicles.
There are ideas for developing cooperation in earth monitoring from space. We see good prospects for supporting existing technology alliances and establishing new ones. One such alliance has been formed by the Skolkovo Fund and the Brazilian Technopak innovative centre.
We see good prospects for expanding cultural and humanitarian cooperation. I am referring here to educational, tourist and youth contacts. A Brazilian information and cultural centre will open soon in Moscow and a Russian culture and science centre will open in Sao Paulo.
Our countries have established a productive exchange of experience in organising major sports events.
Of course, we also discussed the international agenda. Russia and Brazil work actively together in foreign policy. We have largely similar positions regarding the formation of a just and democratic system of international relations based on respect for the principles of rule of law and equal and indivisible security for all.
Our countries work together constructively at the UN, the G20, the World Trade Organisation, and, of course, we cooperate particularly closely within the BRICS group.
The President and I have just signed a joint statement on strategic foreign policy dialogue. This document pursues a higher level of coordination of our countries’ efforts in fighting new challenges and threats such as terrorism, in supporting peace and stability, and in non-proliferation and arms control.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Mr Temer and our Brazilian colleagues for the substantive and useful talks. I am certain that they will contribute towards further developing our bilateral partnership.
Thank you for your attention.
President of Brazil Michel Temer (retranslated): Mr President, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to say how happy I am to visit the Russian Federation once again at President Putin’s invitation. Yesterday, I had the opportunity of meeting with the Speakers of the State Duma and the Federation Council, and today, I met with the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Just a few minutes ago, we concluded very substantive talks with President Putin, during which we reiterated our commitment to supporting and developing the strategic partnership our countries have.
Brazil and Russia are aware of the role they play on the international arena, in particular within the G20 and the BRICS group. Our countries can be justifiably proud of their rich history and Brazilians honour the memory of the Soviet and Russian soldiers who gave up their lives and secured victory over Nazism in World War II.
We also have very strong cultural ties. In general, Russian culture has a very noticeable presence in Brazil. Only yesterday evening, President Putin and I went to the Bolshoi Theatre and watched a ballet performance. The names of Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky are an integral part of our cultural scene.
During my talks with President Putin, I told him about the efforts our country is making to modernise its economy. I reiterated my commitment to the policy of reform. Like Russia, Brazil is firmly following the path of economic growth.
Like Brazil, Russia managed to bring inflation processes under control, and we will continue to follow this path.
In fact, this sums up the agreements that we have just signed. In other words, these agreements are designed to expand mutual trade, increase investment, and deepen political dialogue.
President Putin and I have agreed that we still have untapped potential in terms of bilateral trade. Suffice it to say that bilateral trade increased by 40 percent over the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.
However, we still have an untilled field to work on. As I told Russian entrepreneurs yesterday speaking at a business forum, the opportunities for Russian investors in Brazil are vast.
During talks with Mr Putin, I assured my colleague that during the next six months, when Brazil will temporarily preside over MERCOSUR, it would do its best to advance the preparation of an agreement on cooperation with the EAEU.
We also discussed issues on the international agenda and agreed that international institutions should be more representative and effective. We also exchanged views on critical issues on the international agenda, including peace and international security.
We exchanged views on cooperation in key areas of mutual interest. We agreed that we must put our strategic partnership to work in achieving progress in our relations. We gave a positive assessment to our experience in establishing Russian GLONASS stations in Brazil. We expressed our interest in expanding the network of these stations.
I took the opportunity to wish Mr Putin success in holding the 2018 Football World Cup. I have no doubt that Russia will have everything ready on time. I am also certain that the Football World Cup in Russia will be just as successful as it was in Brazil.
Our national team has qualified for the World Cup and will be coming to Russia in 2018. I believe this will be a big celebration for the Brazilians and the Russians. Who knows, perhaps our teams will meet in the final.
I know well the subject of Brazilian-Russian relations, as I was a co-chair of the high-level intergovernmental commission on cooperation for a number of years. I am therefore aware of what we can do to better serve our peoples’ interests. Mr Putin, I am convinced that today we took a very big step towards this future.
Once again, I thank you for the hospitality my delegation and I have found here. We will return to Brazil with even greater confidence in the future.
June 21, 2017, The Kremlin, Moscow