Brasília – Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro (pictured) said on Tuesday (21) in the opening ceremony to the debates of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) that Brazil is working on attracting investments from the private initiative and has “everything an investor seeks: A large consumer market, great assets, a tradition of respect for contracts and trust in our government.”
President Bolsonaro said the country has boosted the railroad sector among other actions within its investment partnership program and that over USD 6 billion-worth private contracts have been signed for new railroads. The president pointed out that last August the government established a legal framework for the industry, allowing for the construction of new railways through a simplified authorization.
“In a matter of days, we received 14 permit applications for new railways with almost USD 15 billion of private investments,” he said. “This will translate into a reduced consumption of fossil fuels and a lower Brazil cost, particularly with regards to food production,” Bolsonaro added.
Through the Investment Partnership Program, the president said, USD 100 billion have been contracted from new investments and USD 23 billion have been raised from grants. For the coming days, the government will also hold an auction to implement the 5G technology in Brazil, the president said.
Over his speech, the president reaffirmed his promise made at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate to reach neutrality of greenhouse effect gas emissions by 2050 – ten years earlier than the previous prediction, made in the Paris Agreement.
At the event, Brazil wants to seek a consensus on the global carbon credit market regulations, which is expected to bring more investment into the country. “We hope that the industrialized nations really meet their promises regarding relevant climate loans. The future of green jobs is in Brazil: Renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, low-carbon industry, sewerage, waste treatment, and tourism,” he said.
COVID-19
Bolsonaro regrated all deaths from COVID-19 and said that by November this year, “all citizens who have chosen to be vaccinated in Brazil will be duly covered.” The president said his administration is against health passports but backed drives to vaccinate against COVID-19. “We support the vaccination efforts. However, my administration has not supported a vaccine or health passport or any other vaccine-related obligation,” he said.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
