Visit to Brazil by Kevin Rudd, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs

Joint declaration

  • Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
  • Minister of External Relations of Brazil, Celso Amorim

Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

15 December 2010

At the invitation of Minister of External Relations of Brazil, Celso Amorim, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd visited Brazil from 15 to 17of December, 2010. The two Ministers held a bilateral meeting on 15 December, and Minister Kevin Rudd participated, as a special guest, to the Meeting of the Council of the Common Market on 16 December and attended the XL Mercosur Summit Meeting, on 17 December.

2. Mr Rudd looks forward to his meeting with President Lula during the Mercosur-related meetings on 16 and 17 December and highlighting impressive achievements of his administration, including lifting 30 million people out of poverty.

3. At the bilateral meeting the two Ministers held discussions which covered a variety of bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. They renewed their commitment to strengthen the links between Australia and Brazil, as expressed in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Establishment of an Enhanced Partnership, signed by the two Ministers in September, 2010.

4. They expressed satisfaction with the increasing coincidence of views and principles in relation to the strengthening of multilateralism and the reform of the international governance system. They emphasised the two countries agreed policies to promote peace, the non-violent resolution of conflicts, and to encourage disarmament and non-proliferation, the respect for human rights and the protection of the environment and the promotion of development with social justice.

5. They reaffirmed their commitment to reform of the United Nations, including reform of the Security Council. They reiterated their support for the expansion of permanent and non-permanent membership of the Council, as well as reform of the Council’s working methods, in order to make it more representative and responsive to the realities of the international community in the 21st century. The Brazilian Government recognised with satisfaction Australia’s support for a more representative and stronger Security Council, including through its expansion, and warmly welcomed Australia’s support for Brazil as a permanent member. Brazil welcomed Australia’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the Council for the 2013-14 term reflecting Australia’s ongoing contribution to the United Nations.

6. They expressed satisfaction with the results achieved in the context of the G20, particularly with regard to the regulation of financial markets and the reform of the international financial institutions, and welcomed the inclusion of the issue of Development in the Group’s Agenda. They recognised the crucial role of the G20 in fighting the financial crisis, and pointed to the need to strengthen the macroeconomic cooperation with a view to ensure an equitable and sustainable recovery of the global economy.

7. They recalled the significant progress already achieved in the Doha Round of trade negotiations. They called upon all WTO members to work towards a successful, ambitious, comprehensive and balanced agreement, consistent with the mandate of the Doha Development Round and built on the progress achieved. A prompt conclusion will strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system which has helped so greatly in resisting protectionism during the recent global economic crisis.

8. The two Ministers shared the view that global warming and climate change are crucial issues of the contemporary international agenda which deserve constant attention and priority. Ministers committed to working collaboratively to achieve global action on climate change in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) based on the outcomes achieved at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the 6th Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Cancun, including on REDD+. They welcomed the approval, by the United Nations General Assembly, of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012. They stressed the importance of guaranteeing high-level participation in Rio+20, with a view to the adoption of a politically focussed document.

9. They called upon the international community to unite to make additional efforts towards the reconstruction of Haiti and expressed their satisfaction with the first project of Brazil-Australia cooperation in Haiti, in coordination with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), for the construction of clean water cisterns.

10. They reiterated the commitment of promoting new initiatives of trilateral cooperation to the benefit of developing countries and were pleased to sign an MoU for Trilateral and Technical Cooperation in International Development, with a view to establish a dialogue between the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) and the Brazilian Agency for Cooperation (ABC), for the consideration of initiatives to assist developing countries achieve the Millenium Development Goals.

11. Ministers expressed satisfaction with the expansion of commercial relations between the two countries, noting that these relations had increased and intensified over recent years. They reiterated their intention to support efforts that would help bring trade flows back to the pre-Global Financial Crisis levels. They highlighted the growth of bilateral investment in areas such as mining and agriculture and agreed that greater links between the business representatives of both countries be encouraged to expand productive foreign direct investment in productive sectors.

12. Ministers were pleased to announce an MoU to be signed in the first quarter of 2011 between Australia and Brazil’s largest industry bodies, the Australian Industry Group (AIG), which represents over 60,000 companies, and the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) which represents 150,000 companies, promoting cooperation in mutual trade and investment issues.

13. They discussed the possibility of closer economic linkages between Mercosur countries and Australia and New Zealand, in the context of an enhanced MERCOSUR-Australia/New Zealand dialogue.

14. They celebrated the signature of an MoU on Cooperation on Major Sports Events, which will facilitate bilateral cooperation on sports and the exchange of knowledge concerning the organization of major international sporting events that will help to ensure that hosting such events will contribute to the strengthening and diversification of local economies and create a durable legacy.

15. They reiterated the need to reinforce bilateral cooperation in science & technology and looked forward to the conclusion, in the near future, of negotiations for a Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Science and Technology and of the MoU on Cooperation between EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) and the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), with a view to develop science and research projects on agriculture.

16. They also looked forward to the conclusion, in the near future, of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and an agreement on the transfer of convicted persons, instruments that will contribute to the strengthening of legal cooperation between the two countries.

17. Minister Kevin Rudd’s visit to Brazil provided an opportunity for the first meeting between ministers to be convened in the context of the Brazil-Australia Dialogue, included in the MoU for the Establishment of a Enhanced Partnership.

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