A joint statement by the Prime Minister and President of Brazil Luiz In cio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, Brazil, on 26 March 2009.
Read the statement:1. At the invitation of the Brazilian President, Luiz In cio Lula da Silva, the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, visited Brazil on 26 March 2009.
2. The President and the Prime Minister welcomed the progress in the development of the strategic partnership between Brazil and the United Kingdom since President Lula’s State Visit to the UK in 2006. The Prime Minister’s visit to Brazil was an opportunity to take that partnership to a new level.
3. The President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed their shared vision of a world free from hunger and poverty, in which the benefits of education and health are widely spread, and in which all people can live with dignity and in safety. They underlined the central importance of democracy and the rule of law, the promotion of economic growth through inclusive trade and open markets, the need to address urgently the threat posed by dangerous climate change, and the reform of international institutions to make them more legitimate, effective and representative.
The Economic Crisis and the London Summit
4. The two Leaders agreed that the depth and breadth of the current global economic crisis is affecting people and businesses in every country in the world, increasingly so in developing nations, and that the crisis is beyond the scope of any one country to resolve.
5. The President and the Prime Minister agreed that countries should work together to stabilise economies, restore conditions for growth, normal credit markets and regular financial flows, avoid a retreat towards protectionism, and set a course for a sustainable, low carbon, recovery. They discussed the Brazilian and British responses to the crisis and shared the lessons learned. They agreed that protectionist policies would only serve to deepen the global recession, and re-affirmed their commitment to an early and comprehensive resolution of the Doha Development Round on the basis of the significant results achieved so far. They agreed to work together to ensure that countries abide by the commitment made in Washington to not raise new barriers to trade and investment. They called jointly for this commitment to be reaffirmed and strengthened at the London Summit.
6. The President and the Prime Minister agreed that the London Summit on 2 April, which will bring together the Leaders of the world’s major economies and major international organisations, would be a vital opportunity to take the international action required to:
- restore global demand through concerted and co-ordinated fiscal and monetary policy action; - help stabilise the international financial system and secure a sustainable economic recovery - in this regard they agreed that rebuilding confidence in major financial institutions in key financial markets is a priority and that adequate government actions to achieve it, such as dealing with impaired assets, bank recapitalisation and liquidity support may be a core part of the solution; they also agreed that continued public sector action, fiscal and monetary policy, will play a decisive role in promoting demand and jobs; - set in train fundamental reforms to strengthen regulation of the financial sector to prevent future crises - they agreed that all financial institutions, markets and instruments must be subject to appropriate regulation and supervision, and that this requires strengthened international co-operation; - support emerging and developing countries to deal with and overcome the sudden reversal of international capital flows - they agreed this will require urgent mobilisation of International Financial Institutions’ resources and liquidity to finance countercyclical policies and projects in areas such as infrastructure, trade finance and social programmes. The IMF and the World Bank must introduce new and enhanced instruments, including the development of a new high-access, quick-disbursement precautionary facility, with a new more flexible approach to conditionality; - take concrete steps to accelerate the reform of the international financial institutions - they agreed that governance structures should fully reflect new relative weights in the world economy, and thus greater representation of emerging and developing economies.
Strengthening the International System
7. The President and the Prime Minister underlined the importance they attach to an effective multilateral system, and to reforming international institutions to make them more legitimate, representative and effective. They agreed to work together at the London Summit and beyond to ensure that the IMF and World Bank had the resources and capabilities to support the global economy and the world’s poorest during the economic crisis, and to accelerate reform of their governance structures to increase transparency and representation. Emerging and developing economies must have greater voice and representation. With that purpose, the next realignment of IMF quotas should be concluded at the latest by January 2011 and the World Bank second phase of voice and representation reform should be completed by the Spring Meetings in 2010. They also concurred that the next heads of the IMF and the World Bank should be selected through open, merit based selection processes, irrespective of nationality or geographical preferences.
8. The Prime Minister underlined that he considers Brazil has an increasingly important global role. He reaffirmed the UK’s strong support for Brazil as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, its role in the G20 and the institutionalisation of co-operation between the G8 and other members of the +5. These would be steps along the route of effective integration of Brazil and other major Emerging Powers into the structures of global governance. In that context, the President and the Prime Minister stressed the urgency of UN reform.
Combating Poverty and Inequality
9. Brazil and the UK shared the same urgency to reduce global poverty and inequality and to take practical measures to minimise the impact of the financial crisis on developing countries. They commended the responses to date of the Multilateral Development Banks and urged them to deliver more, faster and better funding. They underlined the need for immediate global action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the importance of Leaders honouring their commitments to increase development assistance to protect the poorest. They called on the UN to launch a “Vulnerability Alert” to monitor the impact of the crisis on the poorest, and support the World Bank’s Rapid Social Response Fund. They agreed that both mechanisms should be informed by Brazil’s world leading expertise in social protection. For the Rapid Social Response Fund, this will be through Brazilian participation on the “High Level Advisory Panel”. The UK has contributed $250m to the fund.
10. Brazil and the UK agreed to embark on a new phase of development partnership, particularly building on Brazil’s positive experience in social policy, including strengthening comprehensive social protection systems in Africa and promoting global food security. The two Leaders stressed the importance of Innovative Financial Mechanisms for development, with both countries having recently announced that they would contribute to the IFFIm programme, which aims to save 10 million lives by 2015 through immunisation, and also to support the High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems.
11. The two Leaders expressed their wish to engage in trilateral partnerships supporting South-South cooperation, for the benefit of developing countries. Brazil and the UK are ready to explore new mechanisms and develop specific initiatives to enhance progress towards the MDGs. Working together we can support wider use of Brazilian innovation and experience.
12. The Leaders agreed to work together to accelerate global progress on maternal health, the most off-track MDG. They would work with their international partners to mobilise political and financial support to strengthen health systems and to provide life saving support for millions of mothers, new-borns and children.
13. The President and Prime Minister affirmed their joint support for the FIFA 2010 World Cup Education for All Campaign, in the context of the Millennium Development Goals.
Africa
14. The President and the Prime Minister re-emphasised the priority they attach to supporting African development through both multilateral and bilateral channels. They agreed to co-operate in key areas, including:
- Agricultural innovation (Embrapa Office in Ghana will liase with African partners); - Capacity building; - Electoral sector; - Supporting development of sustainable biofuels in the region; - Poverty alleviation (using expertise of the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development and Combating Hunger on conditional social transfer programmes); - Co-operation on Guinea-Bissau.
15. The President and the Prime Minister agreed to intensify joint UK-Brazil co-operation and dialogue with Africa.
International Trade
16. The President and the Prime Minister stressed their determination to see a successful, ambitious and balanced outcome to the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations. They agreed that this was a crucial opportunity to boost global prosperity and to lift millions of people out of poverty. The global economic crisis and the dramatic volatility in commodity prices made multilateral liberalisation even more important, along with measures to ensure that the poorest countries have access to the benefits of global markets.
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
17. The President and the Prime Minister agreed to work together to address dangerous climate change and to protect and sustainably use natural resources. The world’s poorest were the first to feel these effects and the least able to adapt. Addressing climate change and poverty were intimately linked and both Leaders agreed to the importance of seeking sustainable approaches to addressing the interrelated challenges of energy use, climate change and natural resource management.
18. The Prime Minister welcomed the strong engagement being shown by Brazil in the negotiations under the UNFCCC and the publication in December 2008 of Brazil’s National Plan on Climate Change. The President welcomed the UK’s Climate Change Act. Both countries have shown strong commitment to addressing climate change.
19. The UNFCCC talks in Copenhagen made 2009 a critical year for global action on climate change. The President and Prime Minister committed their personal leadership to securing a robust framework for addressing climate change at Copenhagen. Action was required by all countries, which recognised different national circumstances and respected the UNFCCC principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities’.
20. The President and the Prime Minister underlined the need for new funding mechanisms to be created urgently to enable developing countries to adapt to climate change and to undertake mitigation actions, including through the rapid deployment and dissemination of clean technologies. The two Leaders welcomed the operationalisation at Poznan of the Adaptation Fund.
21. The President and Prime Minister emphasised that the transition to a low-carbon economy offered real and exciting opportunities for businesses. The President and the Prime Minister agreed that the bilateral High-Level Dialogue on Sustainable Development had been valuable in terms of fostering collaboration and deepening understanding between the two countries, and welcomed the agreement to extend the Dialogue for a further three years.
Energy
22. The President and Prime Minister agreed that the world faced the challenge of ensuring the necessary transition to a low-carbon economy, whilst guaranteeing that everyone had access to secure and affordable energy. Both are vital for global prosperity and sustainable development. They agreed to work together, through the Memorandum of Understanding on Energy, to achieve a better functioning oil market, to improve energy efficiency and to continue to encourage renewable and low carbon energy technologies. The two Leaders were pleased to announce a collaboration project on Energy Efficiency.
23. The Prime Minister recognised Brazil’s vast experience in the production and use of biofuels. Sustainable biofuels have a key role to play in helping to increase energy security and reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector, to meet renewable targets in developed countries, and in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing countries. The Leaders announced that the UK-Brazil scientific network would establish a joint research programme (funded by EMBRAPA and the UK International Sustainable Development Fund) to support and accelerate the development of 2nd Generation biofuels. They also agreed that Brazil and the UK would collaborate on research to address knowledge gaps regarding the direct and indirect effects of biofuels production, and that they would continue to work closely together in the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) to provide a proposal for sustainability criteria and indicators for bio-energy, including biofuels.
Food Security
24. The two Leaders noted with concern the recent volatility in global food prices. They agreed that the impact of the financial crisis on the world, both in the developed and in the developing countries, should not weaken the commitment in the global fight against hunger. They agreed that there was a need for concerted global action, short-term and longer-term to eradicate hunger in the world and to address the deterioration of the terms of trade of agricultural commodities and the negative impact of trade distorting practices which threatens millions of the world’s poorest. The President and the Prime Minister emphasised the key role that Brazil could play in this, as a major agricultural producer endowed with the land, water and technology to increase production in a sustainable way as well as the role of the UK as a major consumer and producer of food staples. They pledged to work closely together on this issue, bilaterally and in the context of G8+5 discussions.
Tropical Forests
25. The President and the Prime Minister agreed that Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) offers opportunities to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives, as well as offering wider developmental and environmental co-benefits. Ways to achieve REDD would vary from country to country. Demonstration activities were useful to show what works, in terms of country specific opportunities for investment to drive transformational changes, to leverage private sector investment, and enable national funds like the Amazon Fund to access resources at the scale required. The UK has supported the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) to operationalise the Amazon Fund effectively.
26. The two Leaders welcomed the development of the US$500 million Forest Investment Programme to support demonstration activities and noted the opportunity for the Amazon Fund. Both countries recognised the need for early financing, and agreed to work closely together on this.
Economics and Trade
27. The Prime Minister congratulated President Lula on Brazil’s economic development. The Brazilian economy’s continued robustness during the current global economic crisis demonstrated the efficacy of strong and consistent macro-economic and monetary policies.
28. Both Leaders recognised the importance of the links between economic stability and social justice, and between continued development and public and private sector investment. They welcomed the growing dialogue between Brazil and the UK on economic policy issues, including close co-operation during our successive Presidencies of the G20 and leading up to the London Summit on 2 April.
29. The President and the Prime Minister welcomed the growing trade and investment relationship between the two countries and the progress made under the bilateral Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO). They noted the long history of British investment in Brazil and the recent welcome announcements of major new investments. The Leaders agreed that Brazil and the UK should continue to work closely together to ensure that the business environment in Brazil continued to promote further trade and investment particularly in high value sectors including energy, infrastructure and health. They agreed that this should include making progress towards a workable and effective Double Taxation Agreement. In this context, the Leaders noted that bilateral agreements on the exchange of tax information and the taxation of aircrew were expected to be agreed shortly.
Defence
30. The President and the Prime Minister welcomed recent high level contacts on defence and security issues and agreed these should be developed in the areas of strategy, policy and combined operations.
Peacekeeping and peacebuilding
31. The President and Prime Minister emphasised the growing awareness of the need for UN peacekeeping operations to encompass reconstruction, stabilisation and development. The Prime Minister welcomed the valuable leadership role that Brazil was playing in Haiti. Both Leaders recognised the central role that regional peacekeeping forces can play, in particular those of the African Union, and agreed to work together to develop skills and expertise to deploy them effectively.
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
32. The President and the Prime Minister underlined their commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and to a successful 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on The Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. They welcomed the enhanced bilateral dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation issues and agreed to hold high level talks on an annual basis.
Partnership on Bilateral Co-operation
33. The President and the Prime Minister also welcomed the strengthening of co-operation between Brazil and the UK on a wide variety of domestic policy issues. The Leaders agreed that the two countries would continue to develop their partnership in key domestic policy areas, including in the following areas:
Economic Policy:
- The two Leaders welcomed the ongoing exchange between the Brazilian and UK Governments on key domestic economic policy issues. They agreed that work on areas such as public spending, taxation and budgeting was particularly valuable in the current economic context, and emphasised the importance of its continuation. In this context, they agreed to continue the exchange of ideas and personnel between the Ministries of Finance and others.
Sport:
- The President and the Prime Minister noted the growing sporting links between the two countries, particularly those associated with using sport to improve social inclusion. Brazil and the UK agreed to continue to work closely on sporting links in the light of London hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014, Rio’s bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016, and England’s bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The Leaders welcomed the commitments to create a lasting legacy for the Olympics 2012 and the launch of the International Inspirations’ programme, led by the UK Sports Council, the British Council, and UNICEF and supported by the International Olympic Committee and the FA Premier League, which would help transform the lives of millions of young people through sport. The Leaders welcomed the launch last year of the programme in Brazil.
Education:
- The President and the Prime Minister welcomed the expansion of the educational links between Brazil and the UK. Brazil and UK had been working together in Education for more than a decade and several joint programmes had been developed. The Leaders undertook to ensure that this close co-operation continued through the implementation of the existing Education MOU.
Science and Innovation:
- The President and Prime Minister welcomed the excellent outcomes from the UK/Brazil Year of Science & Innovation in 2007/2008, which had led to a step change in scientific collaboration. They looked forward to the launch in 2011 of Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite containing a British camera for deforestation monitoring and deeper collaboration on agricultural sciences with the opening of a Brazilian research laboratory in the UK. They emphasised the importance of continuing to build scientific collaboration to find ways to address global challenges and the need to support UK and Brazilian companies in their efforts to commercialise the results of their innovative research.
Health:
- Both Leaders welcomed the bilateral Year of Health Co-operation in 2008/2009, and looked forward to enhancing co-operation in primary health care, hospital management, health inequalities, global health issues and innovation, research and development.
Drugs:
- The President and the Prime Minister welcomed the increasing co-operation between the two countries in the prevention of drug abuse and the fight against drug trafficking and related crimes. Both Leaders agreed that the international nature of drug trafficking and related crimes meant that international co-operation against them was essential. They agreed to support strongly the continuing collaboration between Brazilian and British drug prevention and law enforcement agencies.
People to People Contacts
34. Finally, the President and the Prime Minister welcomed the increasingly broad range of contacts between the peoples of the two countries, including for business, tourism and education. They agreed that more should be done to help the two peoples to know each other better. In this context, the President and the Prime Minister welcomed the UK’s Global Fellowship Programme in which young Britons visit Brazil, China and India to understand better the Emerging Powers and the skills students need in a more globalised world.
35. The Prime Minister welcomed the contribution that the Brazilian community makes to Britain’s vibrant multicultural society. Both Leaders pledged to ensure that the two-way flow of students, visitors and businesspeople was encouraged, and that immigration procedures were transparent, non-discriminatory and dignified; and to work together to eliminate illegal practices, including the trafficking of people. They also welcomed the recent co-ordinated efforts undertaken by both countries that allowed the continuation of visa free travel for tourists and businessmen between Brazil and the United Kingdom.
36. The Prime Minister thanked President Lula warmly for his hospitality, and looked forward to welcoming him at the London Summit on 2 April.
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