Angela Merkel Asks Brazilians on Audi Business Trip to Consider
Investing in Portugal and Spain
SAO PAULO, Nov. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Concerned with the
economic stability of the European Union, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel has asked the
government and business community of Brazil to consider investing in Portugal and Spain, countries that are among those most
affected by the world economic crisis. The encounter took
place during the Audi Business Trip, an event organized by LIDE –
Grupo de Lideres Empresariais (Group of Business Leaders)
from November 14th to 20th, in
Germany, with master sponsorship
by Audi.
Responding to the Chancellor's request, Michel Temer, Vice President of the Republic,
said, "We want to work with Germany and continue relations with
Portugal and Spain." Temer noted that there are more than
1,200 German companies operating in Brazil, and that reciprocal trade and
investments are increasing. The free trade project between
the European Union and Mercosul, which has been dormant for years,
despite German wishes, was another issue taken up. Temer
observed that this is a matter "under permanent discussion."
The Vice President of the Republic joined the committee of
Brazilian businessmen led by Luiz Fernando
Furlan, former Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign
Trade, and President of LIDE
INTERNACIONAL, which is made up of Joao Doria Jr., World President of LIDE;
Leandro Radomile, President of AUDI;
Marcelo Lyra, Vice President of Braskem; Jackson Schneider, President of Embraer; Mario
Anseloni, President of Itautec; and Jose Seripieri Jr, President of
Qualicorp. In addition to meeting with Angela Merkel, the group also met with the
President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, and the President of the
parliament, Norbert Lammert.
The group also took part in a luncheon with German businessmen
at the headquarters of BDI, the German Confederation of Industry,
in Berlin. The gathering was
attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation,
Antonio Carlos Raupp; Brazil's ambassador to Germany, Everton
Vargas; and an additional 20 Brazilian executives.
The tax burden as well as bureaucracy involved in moving forward
with infrastructure projects comprised part of a list of German
complaints. Temer showed that these problems are being
addressed by President Dilma
Rousseff. He cited the program Brasil Sem
Fronteiras ('Brazil without
borders'), which has already placed more than 20 thousand students
in the best universities in the world, and that is going to change
the face of the Brazilian market. "Brazil, in addition to being a country where
the world's companies want to be and have to be, continues to keep
its doors open for investment by partners, particularly those who
are in search of solutions."
Media Contact: Rose Rocha –
CDN Comunicacao Corporativa
Phone: 55 11 3643-2952