The holders of the Secretariats of Tourism (SECTUR) and Foreign Affairs (SRE, in Spanish, respectively), Claudia Ruiz Massieu and José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, and the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of the Secretariat of Economy (SE), Francisco de Rosenzweig, recently finished a working visit to Brazil, where they held meetings with federal authorities of this country and with Mexican businessmen.

The purpose of these meetings was to monitor the commitment of the governments of Mexico and Brazil to advance in the dialogue and the political cooperation, strengthen their economic ties and give a new impetus to their cooperation. Also, the agenda that President Dilma Rousseff will unburden during the state visit she will make to our country next 26 and May 27, 2015 was reviewed.

During her stay in Brazil, the Secretary Ruiz Massieu met with the new Minister of Tourism of the country, Henrique Eduardo Alves, with whom she agreed that the two countries are stakeholders and regional leaders in this sector. They recognized that this activity has proven to be a key engine for the economic and social development, as well as a tool of international positioning and global responsibility.

Officials said that there is a positive trend in the increase of tourist flow, bilaterally. In 2014, Brazil established itself as the sixth largest market for arrivals of international visitors to Mexico and the second in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an increase of 15.8% over the previous year, with a total of 309,696 visitors. In 2013, the arrival of Mexican tourists to Brazil amounted to 76,738 persons, which meant an increase of 24.4% over the previous year.

The Secretary Ruiz Massieu met with Vicente José de Lima Neto, president of EMBRATUR, the Brazilian Institute of Tourism, with whom she discussed about the promotion strategies that their respective nations develop for the positioning of their countries, recognizing that there is still great potential to increase the tourist flows and the knowledge of both destinations.

For his part, the Chancellor Meade held a working meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira. They identified the projects that will allow to strengthen the bilateral agenda in areas such as protection of investments, air services, triangular cooperation, development banking, tourism, fishing, aquaculture and the environment.

The Chancellors Meade and Vieira agreed that, by the size of its economies, Mexico and Brazil must maintain a constant dialogue on issues as trade, investment and tourism. They recognized that in this matter, both countries still have great potential to promote growth and development of their respective nations.

On the Palace of Itamaraty, seat of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, the Secretary Meade Kuribreña said that, being the two major economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, their positions in the multilateral arena, its regional leaders, their international relevance and their cultural significance, Mexico and Brazil are called to further deepen their ties.

The Undersecretary Francisco de Rosenzweig held a series of meetings with Brazilian government officials, with whom he reviewed the state of bilateral relations in the field of investment facilitation.

They also agreed to explore the ways and projects in order to allow Mexico and Brazil increase its trade flows, as the two governments have determined to proceed to further deepen their ties.

Mexico and Brazil are among the largest Latin American nations in terms of territory, biodiversity, economy, population and industrial development. Together have half the territory of Latin America and the Caribbean and both account for 62% of the Gross Domestic Product in the region. The two countries generate 58% of exports in Latin America.

Nowadays, Brazil stands as the largest trading partner of Mexico in Latin America and the eighth in the world, with a flow of goods exceeded nine billion dollars in 2014. It also ranks as the fifth destination of Mexican exports worldwide and the first in Latin America and the Caribbean.