President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Tuesday (2) that the New Development Bank, known as the BRICS Bank, is considering changing its internal regulations so that countries outside the bloc can receive financial aid from the group’s members.
The goal is that the entity can help Argentina through guarantees so that Brazilian companies can continue exporting to the neighboring country.
“We don’t even want them to lend money but to give us guarantees, which would facilitate the Brazil-Argentina relationship,” said Lula.
The intention is to create a guarantee fund that can be used with other countries.
He met with the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, for about 4 hours at the Alvorada Palace.
The visit, arranged at the last minute, aimed to develop mechanisms to expand trade between the two countries to help the neighboring country’s recovery.
According to Lula, the meeting was “very tough.”
Brazil’s main offer was the promise to grant credit to Brazilian companies that sell to Argentina.
According to Lula, Brazilian business people will also discuss with Congress what can be done in this process.
“We are not discussing helping Argentina but helping Brazilian business people that export to the country.”
“We will see what we can do so that our exporters continue exporting, creating jobs, and maintaining trade between countries”, he said.
BRICS is the bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa, and the NDB is chaired by Dilma Rousseff, former president of Brazil and a close ally of Lula.
In a statement to journalists after the meeting, Fernández said he asked Rousseff if the bank could help Argentina when he was in China in March.
He heard from the former head of state that such help would only be possible by changing the institution’s regulations.
“I told Xi Jinping that he should help Argentina, an important partner for Brazil,” said Lula.
The president said he called Rousseff on Tuesday at the end of his meeting with Fernández.
In the call, she said that the Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, recently visited her to discuss the issue.
The Brazilian president asked the Finance Minister, Fernando Haddad, to prepare to participate in the bank governors’ meeting, represented by the finance ministers of the BRICS countries.
The meeting is scheduled for May 29.
Fernández, in turn, thanked Lula for his explicit support and said he wants to work with Brazil so that Brazilian companies regain space in the Argentine market, which Chinese companies have largely taken over.
“In the years before President Lula returned, Brazil lost a large part of the exports made to Argentina because China financed Chinese companies and gained part of the market over three years.”
“I want Brazil to recover that part, and I need you to help us recover it,” said Fernández.
The president of Argentina arrived at Alvorada at 5:40 pm.
Soon after, the meeting began, which lasted about 4 hours, ending around 9:40 pm.
The Peronist leader was accompanied by his Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa; the Argentine chancellor, Santiago Cafiero; the legal and technical secretary of the Argentine presidency, Hugo Vitobello; and the ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Scioli.
On the Brazilian side, the vice-president and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin; the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad; the Executive Secretary of the Treasury, Gabriel Galípolo; the Chancellor, Mauro Vieira; the Special Advisor to the Presidency, Celso Amorim; and the President of BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), Aloizio Mercadante.
After the press statement, the committees from both countries attended a dinner at Palácio da Alvorada.
With information from Poder360