Egypt eyes boosting trade exchange with Brazil: FM

CAIRO – 21 February 2024: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry met Wednesday with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Rio Di Janeiro.

The meeting tackled ways of bolstering bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership, building upon the outcomes of the state visit held by the Brazilian president to Cairo earlier this month.

Minister Shokry stressed the necessity of boosting trade exchange between the two countries, capitalizing on the free trade agreement between Egypt and Mercosur. Also, Brazil is already the top trade partner to Egypt in Latin America.

Being president of the group in 2024, Brazil had invited Egypt to take part in the meeting as guest, which was highly appreciated by Minister Shokry who equally valued Brazil's backing to Egypt to join the BRICS.

The two sides also conferred over the Gaza War, especially yesterday's UN Security Council's failure to pass a resolution mandating an immediate ceasefire. In that framework, the minister underscored that the international community must fulfill its moral and legal duties pertinent to ending the ongoing humanitarian suffering.