São Paulo – In the final leg of his visit to the Middle East, Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira was welcomed by his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan al Saud on Wednesday (20) in Jeddah, a city located along the Red Sea coast. According to Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, they discussed ways to strengthen trade ties and investments. Saudi Arabia, the Ministry said, “has showed interest in investment projects in Brazil.” (Pictured, Vieira talks with Farham, R.)
Last year, Saudi Arabia was Brazil’s leading trade partner among both Middle Eastern and Arab countries. Brazil exported USD 3.5 billion worth of goods to Saudi Arabia, particularly food items, and imported USD 3.2 billion, mostly oil and oil products, thus Saudi-Brazil trade reached USD 6.7 billion.
Saudi state news agency SPA reported that the ministers also discussed ways to boost bilateral and multilateral coordination on issues of “common concern.”
Before arriving in Jeddah, Vieira visited Ramallah on Sunday, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He then moved on to Jordan to be welcomed by King Abdullah II. On Tuesday (19), the Brazilian minister met with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and other local officials in capital Beirut. Lastly, he visited Saudi Arabia. A shared topic in all meetings was the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
