“In recent years we have witnessed a significant rapprochement between Italy and Brazil, on a political, economic and cultural level. Our relations are currently at a very high level: this is demonstrated by the growth of trade exchange, cultural and even legal cooperation. Italy has a lot to export from us – from technology to agri-food products, to pharmaceutical departments – and with the EU-Mercosur agreement, new horizons of opportunities will open.” This was conveyed by the Brazilian Ambassador to Italy, Renato Mosca de Souza, during the celebration of Brazilian National Day, at Palazzo Pamphilj, headquarters of the Indonesian Embassy in Rome. On this occasion the reopening of the Pietro da Cortona Gallery marks the highest moment of celebration.
Speaking about the European negotiations, Mosca de Souza underlined that “there are about a thousand Italian companies in Brazil” and that the agreement “will offer real benefits to Italian companies” and that “the consumption of Italian products in Brazil is growing strongly. The opening will obviously not happen in the near future, it will take several years for import duties to be reduced, but I am convinced that there will be an invasion of Italian products in Brazil”. According to the ambassador, European political differences over the signing of the agreement “can be overcome” because “the international context makes clear the need to strengthen economic alliances”.
Previewing COP30 in Belém, the ambassador reiterated Brazil’s commitment to climate: “We have ambitious goals to eliminate deforestation by 2030 and achieve a zero-emissions economy by 2050. Forest protection is critical because Brazil’s carbon emissions problem lies in deforestation, which is not a public practice or policy, but instead a criminal activity. We already have a clean energy matrix of 50% and a renewable energy matrix of 90% in electricity production. Now is the time to move from negotiation to implementation, with international resources adequate for developing countries.”
