BRAZIL'S President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will visit next week, bringing with him a business delegation including executives from planemaker Embraer and food giant JBS that are both in talks for possible deals in Vietnam, sources said.
Lula’s second visit to Vietnam as president will take place as Vietnam, under pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its large trade surplus, is pledging to boost imports from the United States, including of farm products such as soybeans of which Brazil is a top exporter to the country.
Lula will travel to Vietnam on March 27-29 after visiting Japan, according to the Brazilian government.
Lula is expected to invite Vietnam to attend a BRICS summit in Brazil in July, a Brazilian official said, noting Vietnam was invited last year to become a BRICS partner but has so far not taken an official position on the matter.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Brazil’s embassy to Vietnam declined to comment.
The two countries are expected to agree on an action plan on defence, agriculture and energy, which could boost cooperation on ethanol, a fuel of which Brazil is a major global producer, the Brazilian official said.
Brazil wants also to increase exports to Vietnam and is asking Hanoi to authorise imports of its beef, the official said.
The opening of the Vietnamese market for Brazilian beef is a precondition for an investment that Brazil’s food giant JBS is considering in Vietnam, three people briefed about the talks, including the Brazilian official, said.
The company is studying building a meat-processing hub in northern Vietnam, its first plant in Asia, with a possible investment of tens of millions of dollars, the three people said, declining to be named because the information was not public.
JBS declined to comment.
Separately, Embraer is also in talks for the possible sale of 10 E190 narrow-body jets to flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, the Brazilian official said.
It is also trying to sell C-390 military transport planes, with a possible showcase flight in Vietnam in May, the official and an industry source said.
Embraer declined to comment. Vietnam Airlines did not reply to a request for comment. — Reuters
