Brazil and Argentina have formally announced adopting a joint development plan to strengthen their strategic alliance.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernández announced during a meeting in Brasilia commemorating the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The “Action Plan for the Relaunch of the Strategic Alliance” outlines 90 initiatives focused on various areas of cooperation, including infrastructure, defense, financing of exports to Argentina, and other joint endeavors.
President Lula emphasized the importance of nurturing integration between the two nations at the highest level, highlighting his previous meetings with President Fernández and the significance of their strategic alliance.
Argentina is the third-largest destination for Brazilian exports, while Brazil serves as the main market for Argentine products.
The aim is to exceed the previous record of US$40 billion in bilateral trade achieved in 2011. The reciprocal investments between the two countries contribute to nearly one hundred thousand jobs.
One notable aspect of the plan is establishing a credit line to finance Brazilian product exports for constructing the Presidente Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline in Argentina.
President Lula expressed satisfaction with this project’s positive prospects of financing from Brazil’s National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
The plan also encompasses the modernization of Mercosur’s services trade regime, an emphasis on social participation and political cooperation within the alliance, reactivation of the Binational Commission of Nuclear Energy (Coben), and negotiation of a new bilateral agreement on maritime transport.
President Alberto Fernández acknowledged the essential nature of the commercial ties between Brazil and Argentina for the development of both countries.
He expressed gratitude to President Lula for their collaboration and expressed a commitment to further integration between the two peoples.