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JOINT STATEMENT
Brasilia, Brazil
CGCS-132 

On the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexican President Felipe Calderón paid a state visit to Brazil from August 15-17, 2009. As a result of this visit, the following statement was issued:
 
1. The Presidents hailed the fact that relations between Brazil and Mexico have been productive and intense, especially as regards political dialogue and economic and trade relations and within the cultural, academic, technical and scientific and technological spheres. In this respect, they hailed the results of the 2nd Meeting of the Binational Brazil-Mexico Commission, held on July 23, 2009 in Brasilia, which permitted fluid, profitable conversations, together with the materialization of specific cooperation initiatives in various areas, all of which reflect the broad coincidence of shared visions and objectives, as well as the determined political will of both countries to work together.

2. They hailed the importance of bilateral relations for Brazil and Mexico, not only for each country individually, but as the basis of the significant role played by both countries in the regional and world framework. Within this context, they highlighted the profound Latin American and Caribbean vocation of their countries and their determination to foster friendship, dialogue, political agreement and cooperation with all the countries in the region.

3. They also reaffirmed the fact that bilateral relations are based on the deep historical, cultural and friendship links that have traditionally linked Brazil and Mexico and the joint promotion of universal values such as the search for peace, the consolidation of democracy, respect for human rights, cultural diversity and the promotion of sustainable development. Likewise, the two countries share the goal of speeding up economic and social development and combating poverty.
 
4. They highlighted the 3rd Meeting of the Working Group on Multilateral Affairs, held on July 22 2009, which permitted the continuity of coordination and the exchange of perspectives on the main issues on the international agenda, as well as participation in the Security Council, the United Nations Reform, the consolidation of peace, disarmament and non-proliferation, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, transnational organized crime, racism and alleviating hunger and poverty.

 
5. They highlighted the importance for Mexico and Brazil, the two largest economies in Latin America, of expanding their commercial and investment relations. In this respect, they instructed their respective authorities to meet shortly to define the terms and schedule for a negotiation in order for bilateral economic relations to correspond to the potential of their markets, in keeping with the legal constitutional framework of both countries.

They therefore asked their teams to explore the options that will enable them to expand trade and investment, including the possible negotiation of a free trade agreement.

Presidents Calderón and Lula urged the private sectors of both countries to enthusiastically join this initiative that will have a positive impact on trade, investment and employment.

6. They hailed the importance of the Bilateral Brazil-MexicoTrade Monitoring Group that has been consolidated as a forum for exchanging information on the trade policies of both countries and identifying and overcoming obstacles in bilateral trade relations.

 
7. They highlighted the productive dialogue between businessmen from both countries in Sao Paulo on August 15, with the presence of President Felipe Calderón. They were pleased to note that contact between Brazilian and Mexicans is frequent and intense, which has decisively contributed to the rapprochement between and integration of the two countries and the growth of mutual investment. In this respect they hailed the signing in Brasilia of the Cooperation Agreement between APEX and Proméxico, which will foster the increase of business opportunities between Brazil and Mexico.

 
8. They declared their decision to create the "Strategic Mexico-Brazil Business Forum" to encourage a new stage of business links between both countries and take full advantage of the potential complementarity of the two economies. The Forum will present its conclusions and recommendations within a period of twelve months. This forum will comprise representatives of the two countries' business sectors.

 
9. Convinced of the importance of a greater flow of bilateral investment, as well as promoting the partnership between the respective industrial sectors, they confirmed their willingness to support efforts of this nature.
 
 
10. As regards energy, they expressed their support of the upcoming definition of a Working Plan on Fuel, within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation between the two governments signed in 2007, to be implemented by the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Mexican Energy Secretariat. They also highlighted the importance of the continued contact between PETROBRAS and PEMEX with a view to deepening existing cooperation.

11. They highlighted the willingness of both governments to promote the increase in credit for the productive sector in their respective countries in order to offset the effects of the international financial crisis. They hailed the upcoming signing of the new Cooperation Agreement between the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and Nacional Financiera (NAFIN) that will strengthen the link between both institutions and promote the exchange of experiences in financing.

12. They hailed the 3rd Meeting of Cooperation in Cooperation Issues to be held shortly in Mexico when delegations should advance in the negotiation of the Memorandum of Understanding for the Prevention and Repression of Migrant Trafficking and discuss mechanisms to promote an increase in the flow of tourists, businessmen and students between the two countries.

 
13. They expressed their commitment to expanding mechanisms to take advantage of the potential for cooperation between the two countries in the cultural and educational sphere. In the cultural framework, they decided to promote the celebration of A Year in Brazil in Mexico and A Year of Mexico in Brazil as a means of promoting reciprocal knowledge and the dissemination of cultural diversity in their respective societies. In the educational sphere, the highlighted the importance of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific, Technological and Academic Cooperation and Cooperation on Innovation between the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the Brazilian Head Office for Advanced Staff Training (CAPES).

14.- They hailed the signing of the Protocols of Intentions between the Ministry of Science and Technology and CONACYT for the creation of virtual bilateral centers in Nanotechnology and Biotechnology, as well as the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific, Technological and Academic Cooperation and Cooperation on Innovation, which shows Brazil and Mexico's commitment to taking specific measure to expand bilateral scientific and technological cooperation.
 
15. On the subject of technical cooperation, they hailed the enormous interest shown by various institutions in the two countries in promoting the horizontal, mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge, confirmed by the signing of 18 complementary instruments to the 1974 Basic Agreement on Technical and Scientific Cooperation. By virtue of these instruments, Brazil will offer Mexico technical cooperation in the following areas: geography, statistics, water, plant health, bio-fertilizers and seeds, technical education and professional training, human milk banks and health service supplies. Mexico will offer Brazil cooperation in the areas of environmental health surveillance, health supplies, the search for and selection of the domestic pinyon pine genotype, weather and harvest forecasts, geography and statistics, technical education and professional training.
 
 
16. They agreed that the upcoming signing of cooperation agreements between the following institutions will contribute to the projects mentioned in the previous paragraph: between the National Institute of Metrology, Normalization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO) and the Mexican National Center of Metrology and between the Brazilian Institute of Agricultural and Livestock Research and the Mexican National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP).

17. They also agreed on the advisability of promoting cooperation with third countries, including Haiti, by taking advantage of the capacities and strengths Mexico and Brazil have achieved in key sectors for development.

18. As for the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, they repeated their commitment to lending continuity to the permanent dialogue on both countries' participation in the various integration processes and mechanisms existing in the region, to realize the shared conviction that these processes and mechanisms will be linked and coincide in the ultimate, shared purpose of Latin American and Caribbean unity. Within this context, they underlined the historic importance of the first meeting of the Latin American-Caribbean meeting on Integration and Development (CALC) held in December 2008) in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil and pledged to ensure the success of the second CALC meeting in Mexico in 2010.

19. They also highlighted the commitment to supporting the consultation and political agreement mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean and agreed that the process of reinforcing the Río Group will contribute to the expansion of regional capacities in solving and dealing with the challenges faced by the region. They also stressed their governments' desire, within the Rio Group framework, to promote reflections on specific issues that will enhance the dialogue on aspects of common interest to countries in the region and combine efforts to ensure the success of the 21st Rio Group Summit to be held in Mexico in 2010.

20. They repeated their governments' support of the Organization of American States' and the United Nations Organization's resolutions regarding the situation in Honduras and stressed their rejection of the coup d'état in that country. They agreed not to recognize the authorities currently in office as result of a violation of the constitutional internal order or any result of elections not held by the legitimate government. In this respect, they called for the immediate return of the constitutional president to Honduras as part of these rulings and urged the people of Honduras to ensure a peaceful return to constitutional order. They also welcomed the work of the Foreign Ministers’ Mission designated by the Organization of American States (OAS) due to visit Honduras shortly.

21.They hailed the work carried out by Brazil and Mexico and by South Africa, China and India (G-5) within the sphere of the expanded dialogue of the Group of Eight (G-8) and highlighted their commitment to continue fostering the effective participation of emerging nations in the jointly responsible management of world problems and challenges. They hailed the effort to participate actively in the consolidation of strategies and initiatives that will effectively be able to cope with the challenges of a globalized, increasingly inter-dependent world.

22. In particular, they stressed their shared aim of deepening their collaboration with G-20 to ensure a global response to the economic crisis that will stress the priorities of fair, sustainable development and protect the most vulnerable, as well as a fair, inclusive reform of international financial institutions.

 
23. They expressed their willingness to work in close coordination, with a view to contributing to the consolidation of the United Nations’ integral reform. They stressed the urgency of revitalizing the General Assembly, strengthening ECOSOC, reforming the Security Council, and promoting the coherence of the system and the administrative reform of the Secretariat. The hailed the evolution of negotiations in the General Assembly for the integral reform of the Security Council in order to make it more representative and democratic, to ensure greater transparency in its work together with the legitimacy and effectiveness of the implementation of its decisions.

24. President Lula thanked Mexico for its valuable support of Brazil's candidacy as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the two-year period between 2010 and 2011. Brazil and Mexico stressed their aim of working in a coordinated fashion in 2010, when both countries will be present in this organization.

 
25. They agreed over the important to find alternatives to reinforce the Human Rights Council to make it more efficient and avoid its politicization, and the advisability of turning it into the main entity in the United Nations Organization in the field of human rights, with a view to reviewing its functions and status in 2011.

26. They stated their commitment to reinforcing the institutions comprising the Inter-American System of human rights. The Government of Mexico thanked Brazil for its support of the Mexican candidate to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights for the period from 2010 to 2013. They added that the new members of the Commission must contribute to strengthening legal analysis, objectivity, independence and the procedural fairness that must characterize the Commission in the performance of its high responsibility.

27. They agreed to collaborate closely within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, in order to achieve an ambitious, fair and effective result in this in 2009, bearing in mind the principle of shared but different responsibilities and their respective capacities.

28.- They stressed the urgent need to expand the scale of available resources to cope with the adverse effects of climate change and in this context, they agreed to continue considering the proposals to establish international financing mechanisms, including the Mexican proposal for a World Fund on Climate Change (Green Fund) and the Brazilian proposal, in conjunction with that of G-77, of a financial mechanism within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention.

29. They stressed their willingness to strengthen the implementation of public policies for the benefit of youth through a transversal approach with the aim of enabling young people to achieve better opportunities for social, economic and academic development. In this respect, both presidents hailed the fact that the World Youth Conference will be held in Mexico in 2010.

30.- They highlighted the public health policies to cope with the A/H1N1 flu epidemic on the basis of people's rights and scientific evidence, with the aim of preventing unnecessary restrictions on economic activity and on the circulation of persons and merchandise between countries. They also expressed their desire to share the lessons learned about the surveillance and control of this epidemic and about the development and manufacture of an appropriate vaccination.
31. Within the area of Elath, they hailed the Collaboration Agreement to be signed between the Butantan Foundation and the Mexico Biological and Reactive Laboratories.

32.- In order to follow-up the commitments assumed, the Presidents agreed to meet for a working meeting at least once a year.

 
33. President Felipe Calderón thanked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the hospitality and affection shown to him and his official staff by the people and government of Brazil.