Brasília - On Tuesday (23), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that Brazil and Canada need "to make up for lost time" in terms of bilateral trade."We must recognize that we are still far from our economic potentials," Lula said during a work visit by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, in the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations. According to Lula, Canada's investments in Brazil don't come to even 2% of Canada's foreign investments. Trade between the two countries amounted to US$ 2.416 billion in 2003.

President Lula guaranteed that the meeting between the two countries led to progress in their discussions over aircraft production, which is one of the issues that has caused problems in relations between Brazil and Canada. He declared that the two countries are "deepening their mutual understanding and expanding their faith in the conclusion of an agreement as rapidly as possible."

According to the Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, there exists a political will on both sides to put an end to the adverse diplomatic consequences of the trade dispute between the two aircraft manufacturing companies, Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer, in the World Trade Organization, since 1996.

Furlan affirmed that "we want to call an end to the past and establish some basic rules regarding the future. We don't want to talk any more about retaliations," he declared, following a luncheon meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Relations with President Lula and the Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin.

As for future relations, Furlan stated that the two countries intend to continue their conversations to free their commercial competition from State influences and protectionism. The two countries plan a meeting in Brazil before the end of the year to discuss this matter. The last meeting took place in October, in Canada.

Furlan informed that, following a suggestion made by President Lula, Prime Minister Paul Martin will meet with the new president of the BNDES (Brazilian Economic and Social Development Bank), Guido Mantega, in Rio de Janeiro, to discuss investments. "The Canadian Prime Minister said that, because of the big reduction in Canada's debt and the country's budget surplus in recent years, his country has become a big cash cow and is looking for new investment opportunities," Furlan said.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Ana Paula Marra
Translator: David Silberstein
11/25/2004