Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira arrived in Dhaka on Sunday morning to discuss bilateral issues and enhance trade and investment ties with Bangladesh.
South America’s most influential country’s foreign minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Hasan Mahmud this afternoon, along with engaging with business leaders during his two-day official visit. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.
Upon his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Mauro Vieira was received by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Vieira will pay tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi 32 before his meeting with Hasan Mahmud.
The bilateral meeting between the two foreign ministers is set to take place at the state guesthouse Jamuna, beginning at 4:20 pm on Sunday. An agreement on technical cooperation between the two countries is expected to be signed after the meeting.
A joint media briefing by the two foreign ministers will follow the bilateral discussions. State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu will also meet with the Brazilian Foreign Minister at his residence. In honor of his Brazilian counterpart, Hasan Mahmud will host an iftar and dinner on Sunday evening.
On Monday, Mauro Vieira will meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban, with the meeting scheduled to start at 10 am. Following his meeting with PM Hasina, Vieira will visit Square Pharmaceuticals facilities and Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur.
The Brazilian Foreign Minister is scheduled to deliver a lecture on Brazil’s priority areas at the G20 as the current chair at the Foreign Service Academy at 3 pm on Monday afternoon. Accompanied by a business delegation, he will meet with business leaders in Dhaka. The apex trade body, FBCCI, will host an iftar and dinner in honor of the Brazilian Foreign Minister and members of the business delegation on Monday evening.
Brazil aims to export beef to Bangladesh at a cost of around Tk 500 per kg. Brazilian Foreign Minister’s visit is deemed highly significant by Foreign Minister Hasan. “Brazil is a significant country, and there is ample opportunity to enhance trade relations,” Hasan commented. Brazil had previously expressed its willingness to deepen relations with Bangladesh for mutual development, South-South cooperation, and tackling poverty, hunger, and climate crises.
Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Bangladesh, established in 1972, have strengthened over the years. In 2023, President Lula and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met during the BRICS Summit in South Africa. Bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Brazil reached the US$2.3 billion mark last year. Mauro Vieira is scheduled to depart Dhaka at 11:55 pm on Monday, with Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral) Dr. Nazrul Islam seeing him off at the Dhaka airport.
