Japan-Brazil Summit Meeting (Summary)

On May 3, commencing at 9:15 a.m. (local time; 9:15 p.m. on May 3, JST) for approximately 110 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, during his official visit to Brazil, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, following the welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace. The overview of the meeting is as follows. A signing ceremony of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and a joint press conference were held afterwards.

Commencing at 12:30 p.m. (local time; 12:30 a.m. on May 4, JST), Prime Minister Kishida, along with Japanese business representatives accompanying him, will attend a luncheon hosted by President Lula.

1. At the outset, President Lula welcomed Prime Minister Kishida's visit to Brazil and expressed his desire to further strengthen bilateral relations with Japan. In response, Prime Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude for the invitation and warm hospitality, and stated that he was pleased to make the first visit of prime minister of Japan to Brazil in 10 years and to meet President Lula again for the first time since the G7 Hiroshima Summit last year.
Prime Minister Kishida then stated that Japan is willing to take Japan-Brazil relations to a higher level and strengthen cooperation with Brazil, which holds the G20 presidency this year, working together for the success of the G20 Rio de Janeiro Summit. President Lula reiterated his expectations for cooperation from Japan and expressed his willingness to work with Japan.

2. The two leaders concurred on the importance of enhancing cooperation as Strategic and Global Partners to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law and to ensure a world where human dignity is secured.

3. Prime Minister Kishida appreciated President Lula's leadership in environmental protection and measures against climate change, and welcomed Brazil’s hosting of COP30 next year. On that basis, the two leaders launched the “Japan-Brazil Green Partnership Initiative (GPI),” aiming at taking cooperation on the environment, climate change, and sustainable development to an even higher level. Prime Minister Kishida stated that Japan attaches great importance to the prevention of deforestation in the Amazon and has been working together with Brazil in the fight against illegal logging in the Amazon region. He told that, in this context, Japan disbursed the finance contribution to the Amazon Fund as the first contributor in Asia in March this year. He also stated that Japan would deepen cooperation for the realization of sustainable agriculture, including in a recovering project of degraded agricultural fields promoted by Brazil. President Lula expressed his gratitude for Japan's cooperation and his willingness to collaborate with Japan further to protect the Amazon and to combat climate change.

4. The two leaders also launched a new international framework, the Initiative for Sustainable Fuel and Mobility (ISFM), aiming at achieving carbon neutrality along with partners around the world by combining Brazil's high potential in decarbonized fuels such as biofuels and e-fuels with Japan's high-performance mobility equipment such as hybrid engines.

5. The two leaders confirmed that the public and private sectors of both countries would work together to reinforce trade and investment relations in various fields, including the digital and green sectors. Prime Minister Kishida stated that Japan would also enhance support for Japanese startups in Brazil. They also exchanged views on AI, including the Hiroshima AI Process.

6. The two leaders affirmed the importance of strengthening relations between Japan and MERCOSUR. They also concurred on examining ways to strengthen economic ties between them in a wide range of areas, utilizing opportunities such as the Dialogue to Strengthen the Economic Relationship between Japan and MERCOSUR.

7. The two leaders designated the year of 2025 as the “Japan-Brazil Friendship Exchange Year” on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Brazil. They also confirmed that they would promote cooperation in various fields, including cultural, tourism, and sports exchanges, as well as support for Japanese language education as a foundation for such exchanges. They furthermore shared the view that they would work together towards the further deepening of people-to-people exchange and bilateral relationship between the two countries revitalized by the mutual exemption of short-term stay visa for ordinary passport holders.

8. The two leaders exchanged views on international affairs, including the situations in the Middle East, Ukraine, and East Asia. They also affirmed the importance of strengthening the functions of the UN and shared the view that the G4 including Japan and Brazil would work closely together to make concrete moves on UN Security Council reform in anticipation of the Summit of the Future in September this year and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN next year.

9. The two leaders also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the “Strategic and Global Partnership” between the two countries and underlined their historic friendship supported by people-to-people exchange, including by Nikkei (Japanese immigrants and descendants) communities. As a guideline for the further strengthening of the bilateral relations, they issued the “Joint Statement on Further Strengthening the Japan-Brazil Strategic and Global Partnership” as well as the “Joint Statement on the Brazil-Japan Partnership Initiative on Environment, Climate, Sustainable Development and Resilient Economies.”