São Paulo – Brazil’s Foreign minister Ernesto Araújo and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, talked on Monday (1) via video conference, Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram reported. The ministers discussed ways to encourage more cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the projects that Egypt has implemented in Africa to achieve the “common good” for African countries.
Shoukry and Araújo urged cooperation between private sector companies in agriculture, medical and pharmaceutical research, as well as science and technology, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They also agreed on enhancing commercial relations and investments between Egypt and the Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, which Egypt has a free trade agreement with.
The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry states that 600 made-in-Egypt products exported to Mercosur countries are fully exempted from taxes, as part of the free trade agreement signed between Egypt and bloc. Brazil exported USD 1.7 billion worth in goods to Egypt last year, while Egypt sold USD 212 million worth in goods to Brazil, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) reports.
During the online meeting, the two ministers also highlighted the strong relations Egypt and Brazil share at various levels, expressing keenness to intensify bilateral coordination on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The ministers also discussed the latest in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the statement noted. Shoukry stressed to his Brazilian counterpart Egypt’s insistence on the need to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operating of the Ethiopian dam through engaging in serious talks “without procrastination.”
Ethiopia build a dam on the tributary of the Nile River, the Blue Nile River, and haven’t reached an agreement yet with Egypt and Sudan, which are also on the Nile River, on the filling of the dam. While the Ethiopians want to fill the dam at the highest level to solve its power problems, Sudan and Egypt fear the lack of water. Egypt’s water supply is strongly dependent on the river.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
