The German-Brazilian Economic Meeting was different this year
How can we work together on climate action? What does the future of global trade look like? How can we better prepare for pandemics together? – These and other questions were discussed by 20 German and Brazilian board members and decision-makers at this year’s 38th German-Brazilian Economic Meeting.
Due to the pandemic, the conference, which lasted just under three hours, was held digitally on 18 October. Even without a delegation trip and a face-to-face event in Brazil, there was great interest on both sides to exchange ideas about future technologies. These included digitalisation, Industry 4.0, renewable energy, green hydrogen, medical technology and more.
“The new German government must intensify the political dialogue with Brazil,” demanded Gunnar Kilian, Chairman of the Latin America Committee of German Business (LADW) and Member of the Board of Management of Volkwagen AG. Brazil is very important for the German economy.
BDI President Siegfried Russwurm stressed that the ratification of the EU-Mercosur Agreement was an important basis for a closer strategic partnership between the European economies and Latin America, which would also greatly benefit Germany and Brazil. He appealed to the new German government to lobby the EU institutions for ratification.
For CNI President Robson Braga de Andrade, an agreement to avoid double taxation is another significant instrument for intensifying bilateral cooperation. This would also help to boost investment in both directions. At the same time, Brazil continues to be very active in its efforts to become a member of the OECD.
The global challenges are great. They can only be overcome by working together. Sustainability is a central issue here. The interplay of economy, ecology and social issues is becoming increasingly important – also in German-Brazilian cooperation. This applies to environmental and energy issues as well as to the health sector and other areas.
Politicians and businessmen agreed that the potential of bilateral cooperation is far from exhausted and should be exploited more.
The next joint Economic Meeting will be held in Belo Horizonte from 20 to 22 November 2022.
Uta Knott, Senior Manager Latin America at BDI
