President Michel Temer met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo this Wednesday (19) as part of his official visit to Japan. At the occasion, they signed a Cooperation Agreement for the Promotion of Infrastructure Investments. After the meeting, the two leaders offered statements to the press.

President Temer said he spoke to Prime Minister Abe about the priority Brazil has accorded to the resumption of growth and creating jobs, and that Japanese investments are welcome at this new time.

“I mentioned that we are consolidating an environment of legal certainty and regulatory predictability in Brazil, always very aware that the recovery of the Brazilian economy necessarily involves more foreign investment and foreign trade, with Japanese investment playing a key role.”

Michel Temer highlighted that there are almost 700 Japanese companies operating in Brazil today. The intention, the president reinforced, is to attract more entrepreneurs, especially to sectors such as science, technology and infrastructure. “We have identified strong interest by Japanese businesses in a number of projects in our Investment Partnership Plan, which is focused on the infrastructure sector.”

Cooperation Agreement

Aiming to increase the participation of Japanese capital in Brazil and deepen economic relations, the ambassadors of the two countries signed a cooperation agreement on infrastructure.

The agreement provides for the creation of a working group to discuss the partnership, and includes representatives from important sectors such as transportation and logistics, information and communication technology, and energy. The idea is that the members of the working group meet at least once a year to implement and discuss the actions provided for in the agreement.

Temer also spoke to Prime Minister Abe regarding Brazil's interest in diversifying its export portfolio with increased sales of higher value added goods.

The Brazilian president also expressed his satisfaction to relay the Olympic and Paralympic flags to Japan for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

He added that the trip marks a strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Brazil and Japan, and that foreign policy in democracies "must serve the values and interests of our societies.”

Temer said he was honoured to have been received by Emperor Akihito. This is the first visit by a Brazilian Head of State to the country in 11 years.