SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil, Mexico and India are some of the countries currently standing in a good position to attract investments, Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Monday, touting a “series of advantages” those nations offer.
Speaking at an event hosted by FGV, Haddad mentioned Brazil’s environmental strength, saying his country could become a top manufacturer of “net zero” products, and its ability to protect itself from external shocks.
The finance minister added his team would meet with 25 U.S. investors in Sao Paulo later in the day, following up on the bilateral meeting Presidents Joe Biden and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held last week.
“We saw huge interest from the U.S. in associating with Brazil in research, trade and investments,” he said. “A cooperation agreement with the U.S. would be the crown of our multilateral policy.”
Haddad also urged the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to finalize its long-awaited trade deal with the European Union soon, noting some political developments in Argentina might put the South American bloc at risk.
Argentina will hold elections in October, and one of its front runners is radical libertarian Javier Milei, who has pledged to pull out of Mercosur, which he calls a “defective customs union.”
(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Steven Grattan)
