In São Paulo, the last stop of her official visit to Brazil, Foreign Minister Mondino continued with her busy schedule of meetings with political authorities, institutions and leading businesspeople, with a view to increasing trade and investments with Brazil’s main financial centre.
The Foreign Minister was accompanied by a high-level delegation of the Industrial Organization of Argentina (UIA), headed by Daniel Funes de Rioja and made up of Elio del Re, president of the Argentine Association of Metallurgical Industries (ADIMRA), and Carla Martín Bonito, president of the Association of Food Product Industries (COPAL).
First, the Foreign Minister held a working meeting with Josué Gomes da Silva, president of the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP), who shared his view that “Argentina is a valuable partner for Brazil, our economies can lead together.”
For her part, Mondino stated: “We inherited a country facing a very complex economic situation, but we are moving in the right direction and have very good prospects for the future.” She further stated: “Argentina and Brazil are like twins: they cannot be parted. There are many common topics to work on together, and we are here to generate more business.”
For his part, Funes de Rioja, who attended the meeting as well, said: ”At the UIA we support this process of economic stabilization. We believe that the industries of both countries have a common path to follow.”
FIESP is the largest trade association of Brazilian industries. It gathers nearly 130 thousand companies and represents 43% of Brazil’s GDP.
Then, the Foreign Minister, joined by the presidents of UIA and FIESP, presided over a business forum attended by over 150 Brazilian businesspeople. In that context, she offered a detailed overview of the reforms promoted by the new Argentine administration, aimed at stabilizing macroeconomic variables and creating a new business environment that will attract new investments to Argentina.
In her speech, the Foreign Minister referred to MERCOSUR and, in that regard, she underscored that Argentina, together with Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, are promoting a modernization agenda for the bloc. “The world has changed, and so have companies. However, the bloc has not evolved. No substantial changes have been made during the past 32 years. For this reason, it is crucial to achieve a true circulation of goods, people and capital, and thus integrate into the global scene, which poses multiple challenges,” she stressed.
She ended by highlighting that Argentina and Brazil can offer solutions to global challenges, such as energy transition and food safety.
Later, the Foreign Minister met with the governor of the State of São Paulo, Tarcísio Gomes De Freitas, with whom she discussed the broad bilateral commercial-economic agenda. “São Paulo wishes Argentina well, as it is an important country for our State’s foreign trade,” expressed the governor.
In addition, Gomes De Freitas underscored the existing relationship between Argentina and Brazil, particularly in the automotive sector. In this regard, the Secretary for International Relations of São Pablo, Lucas Ferraz, proposed extending the automotive agreement—a bilateral agreement so far— to the four members of MERCOSUR, with a view to boosting value chain integration in that industry.
Mondino, for her part, stated that “if Brazil grows, so does Argentina. If São Paulo does well, so does Argentina” and stressed the importance of reducing restrictions so that Argentine and Brazilian companies can operate with greater efficiency and flexibility within MERCOSUR.
For her fourth activity of the day, the Foreign Minister visited the headquarters of Grupo J&F, where she was received by its president, Joesley Mendonça Batista. J&F is one of the largest business conglomerates in Brazil, its annual income amounting to BRL 150 billion. Grupo controls the company JBS (the world’s largest producer of beef, poultry and leather) and owns Âmbar Energia, whose thermal power plant in Uruguaiana is supplied with Argentine natural gas.
In this context, executives of J&F expressed the company’s interest in investing in the plant in Uruguaiana to extend Argentina’s supply of gas to the city of Porto Alegre.
Finally, Mondino held a meeting with Argentine representatives from multinational companies established in São Paulo, including La Serenísima and Globant.
During her activities in São Paulo, Foreign Minister Mondino was accompanied by the Secretary for International Economic Relations, Marcelo Cima, and the Consul General and Director of the Argentine Promotion Centre, Ambassador Luis María Kreckler.
The State of São Paulo accounts for 31.5% of Brazil’s GDP and concentrates 29.6% of banking branches and 29% of the country’s credit operations. In 2023, it became the second top Brazilian destination for Argentina’s exports, which totalled USD 1.928 billion (measured at FOB value), just behind Rio Grande do Sul. In that same year, Argentina was the third top destination for São Paulo’s exports, which totalled USD 6.721 billion, representing 8.85% of its total exports.
