Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday Vietnam may buy Embraer planes and become a regional hub for Brazilian meat processing operations, as he met Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong in Hanoi. Brazil’s President Luiz also recognized Vietnam as a market economy, invited the nation to become the part of BRICS summit in Brazil this year, and pledged a Mercosur trade agreement with Hanoi. However, Hanoi has so far not accepted the invitation to become a formal partner of the club led by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Last year, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a BRICS summit as an observer for the first time.
It is the second visit of Brazil’s President Luiz to Hanoi due to the pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its large trade surplus, which has promised to boost U.S. imports, including farm products like soybeans of which Brazil is the top explorer to the nation.
During a media conference with Brazil’s President Luiz, Cuong said Vietnam was considering allowing Brazilian beef into the market.
Luiz said, “Opening the Vietnamese market to Brazilian beef would attract investment from the Brazilian meat packers to make the nation an export platform for Southeast Asia.”
The Brazilian food giants JBS is thinking of build a meat-processing plant in the northern Vietnam, its first in Asia, if Vietnam opens its market to Brazilian beef, as per the news sources.
Brazil’s President Luiz also mentioned that he was aware that flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines was positively analyzing Embraer’s offer for regional jets, noting Brazil wants to export planes to Hanoi.
Both nations signed a five-year action plan focused on defence, energy, agriculture and technology and other pacts, including one on goofball corporation.
