Por Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu
HANOI (Reuters)-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday (28) that Vietnam will be able to buy Embraer aircraft and become a regional center for Brazilian meat processing operations when meeting Vietnam President Luong Cuong in Hanoi.
Lula also recognized the communist country as a market economy, invited Vietnam to participate in a BRICS summit in Brazil this year and said he will work for a Hanoi trade agreement during the Brazilian presidency of the South American bloc.
Lula’s second visit to Vietnam occurs as Hanoi, under pressure from the government of US President Donald Trump, to reduce his large commercial surplus, promised to increase US imports, including agricultural products such as soy, of which Brazil is one of the main exporters for the country.
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In a press statement alongside Lula, Cuong said Vietnam is “seriously considering” allowing the entry of Brazilian beef into the country.
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“The opening of the Vietnamese market for Brazilian beef will attract investments from Brazil’s refrigerators to make this country an export platform for Southeast Asia,” said Lula.
The Brazilian Food Giant JBS is considering building a meat processing factory in northern Vietnam, its first in Asia, if Vietnam opens its market to Brazilian beef, Reuters said last week citing sources.
Lula also said he hoped that Vietnam’s main airline, Vietnam Airlines, “can positively evaluate Embraer’s offer” to regional jets, noting that Brazil wanted to export airplanes to Hanoi.
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The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer is in negotiations for the possible sale of ten E190 jets of narrow fuselage for Vietnam Airlines, a Brazilian authority told Reuters last week. The two companies did not comment.
Embraer and JBS are part of a large business delegation that accompanies Lula on his trip to Vietnam.
The two countries signed a five-year action plan, which, according to the authorities, focuses on defense, agriculture, energy and technology, as well as other pacts, including one on football cooperation.
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Lula invited Vietnam to the BRICS summit that Brazil will host in July. Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh participated in a BRICS summit as the first time last year, but Hanoi has not accepted an invitation to become a formal partner of the group led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Cuong made no comment about BRICS in his public statement.
Lula said the Brazilian Mercosur presidency in the second half of the year “will work for an agreement with Vietnam that is balanced and benefit both sides”, which implies that there will be talks about a trade agreement between Vietnam and the South American bloc.
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He also proposed the expansion of technical cooperation with Vietnam in coffee plantations, at a time when the two largest coffee producers in the world are facing challenges arising from climate change.
(ReportAgent de Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu, Thinh Nguyen E Phuong Nguyen)
