Visit will strengthen commercial ties between Brazil and Japan, says ambassador

On the eve of President Michel Temer's trip to Japan, the Brazilian ambassador in Tokyo, André Correia do Lago, stated that the visit aims at strengthening commercial ties between the two countries.

According to him, Brazil aims at signing documents to increase Japanese investments in infrastructure, trade, and science and technology.

Lago explained that free-trade negotiations will proceed on two fronts: promoting contracts between Japan and Mercosur (of which Brazil is a signatory, and whose resolutions determine that members should negotiate as a bloc); as well as signing bilateral agreements with Japan.

'This visit symbolises a political decision to ensure that Japan increasingly takes the position of a priority partner for Brazil', pointed out the ambassador.

According to Lago, Brazil is also asking the Japanese government to adapt a more flexible approach with regards to its protectionist rules so as to enable Brazilian beef and fruit to be exported to the Japanese market.

'We are also proposing a technical investment agreement with Anvisa. We are trying to ensure that all technical requirements to increase our trade are met'.

Lago also stated that Temer's visit programme will include meetings with major Japanese businesses so as to clarify the new rules for investment in the country and attract resources for projects under the Investment Partnership Programme (PPI, in the Portuguese acronym).

'Japan's experience in infrastructure is amazing. It is constantly renewed, and they are loyal investors: when they invest in a country, they are thinking in the long term (....) and this is what matters the most to us in Brazil. The relationship that they have established is one of trust, and of continued investment with high quality', Lago pointed out.

The ambassador also said that Japanese entrepreneurs have been following up on Brazil's domestic economic policies. Therefore, according to him, they have a positive assessment of the Brazilian government's initiative to present a Constitutional Amendment Bill (PEC, in the Portuguese acronym) to set a cap on public spending.

'Before anyone decides to make large investments in a distant country, they need to be sure that, in the medium and long term, that country will work, that they will have a return for their investment, and that contracts will be enforced. This perception grows stronger with the notion that the government has taken a firm stance against one of the problems, which is government spending', he added.

'The government is showing that they are concerned with solving a problem that the Japanese also identify as central. In other words, we are speaking the same language - which sounds ironic', he concluded.