The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will visit Turkey on 20-23 May 2009 to take part on an occasion "Turkish-Brazilian Business Forum" (see the preliminary program below).

The occasion purpose is to foment business and bilateral investments between two countries among Brazilians businessmen and authorities with Turkish governmental authorities and business sector delegates.

With Ankara’s growing interest in Latin America’s largest economy, Turkish-Brazilian Business Council was founded in January 2006, in parallel with the incentive of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ declaration the year of 2006 as the "Latin America year". The Council targets through all these activities to situate and build up a brand identity for Turkey and its key business sectors in Brazil, by promoting Turkey’s advantages as a place to do business and by promoting cultural tourism and vice versa.

At that time Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Ministry of Foreign Trade representatives, MPs and businessmen visited Brazil.

Later that year the Prime Minister’s Office Permanent Under Secretariat for Foreign Trade General Directorate issued "Turkey’s Trade Development Strategy Towards the Americas," which outlined the government’s "Trade Enhancement Strategy" towards Latin America.

Turkey and its economy began to catch Brazil’s Federal Council of Economics (COFECON) attention. A delegation guided by COFECON undertook a 10-day trip to Turkey for elevated meetings in Istanbul and Ankara with government officials, industrialists, and Central Bank officials. The Brazilian government saw its outreach efforts to Turkey as part of its larger policy towards "New Eleven," a group of 11 countries which includes Vietnam, South Korea, Egypt and Thailand. The delegation was official sponsored by Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, and delegates received staff support from the Brazilian embassy in Ankara. Brazilians discussed with their Turkish counterparts about inflation, a problem at the time afflicting both nations’ economies.

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Preliminary program

09:30-10:00 Registration

10:00-10:10 Film on Turkey – Latin America

10:10-13:00 Opening Speeches

• Mr. Aykut Eken, Chairman of the DEIK/Turkish-Brazilian Business Council

• Amb. Marcelo Jardim, Ambassador of Brasil to Ankara

Ministerial Speeches

• Mr. Miguel Jorge, Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade

• Mr. Mehmet Simsek, Minister of Finance

11:20-11:35 Coffee Break

11:35-13:00 Sectoral Speeches

• Energy (Bio-energy, Oil and Gas)

• Aerospace - Defense

• Tourism

• Infrastructure

13:00-14:30 Luncheon

• Mr. Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President, TOBB-DEIK

• His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil

14:30-16:30 One-on-One Meetings

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Recent Activities

• 11/11/08 - Visit of the Turkish-Brazilian and Turkish-Mexican Business Council Executive Boards to the Ambassador of Brazil to Ankara

• 10/15/08 - Attendance to the Independence Day Receptions of the Jamaica and Saint Christoper and Nevis Honorary Consulates

• 8/22/08 - Meeting with Permanent Representatives of CARICOM Countries to UN

• 5/30/08 - Participation to the Negotiation Management Conference

• 5/21/08 - International Young Diplomats Training Program

• 4/17/08 - Roundtable Meeting with Mr. Carlos Eduardo Mena - The Executive Vice President of The Chilean Foreign Investment Committee

• 10/24/07 - DEIK Briefing to the Chilean Delegation

• 7/6/07 - MOU Signage with FIESP

• 7/3/07 - Dinner in honor of the South American Delegation visiting Istanbul for the 5th World Chambers Congress

• 6/29/07 - Meeting with Francisco Santos Calderon, the Vice-President of Colombia

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