Czech Republic, Brazil sign agreement on economic, industrial cooperation

The Czech republic and Brazil signed an agreement on cooperation in the fields of economy and industry in Prague on Saturday, during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's official visit to the country.

The agreement was signed by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim, the Czech news agency CTK reported.

"The Czech Republic is very interested in the maximal possible development of bilateral relations with Brazil," Czech President Klaus said during his Brazilian counterpart's visit at Prague Castle.

Da Silva, the first ever Brazilian president to visit the Czech Republic, said the agreement means launching new economic cooperation between the two countries.

Czech business missions can be expected to visit Brazil more frequently, said da Silva, who is paying a two-day visit to Prague from Friday.

Brazilian entrepreneurs, too, should seek better knowledge of the Czech Republic, he added.

The Czech president has visited Brazil only once since the independent Czech Republic was established in 1993. Former Czech President Vaclav Havel visited Brazil in September 1996.

Klaus had signed an economic cooperation agreement, similar to that signed Saturday, in Brazil in 1994 when he visited the country in his then capacity as Czech prime minister.

Brazil is the Czech Republic's largest trade partner in Latin America. Last year, Czech exports to Brazil reached 4.6 billion crowns (about 300 million U.S. dollars) while Brazilian exports to the Czech Republic were almost 6 billion crowns (about 400 million U.S. dollars).

Czech direct foreign investments in Brazil reached 9.9 million crowns (about 600,000 U.S. dollars) last year. Czech companies exported to Brazil, for instance, equipment for power stations and cement factories while agricultural commodities prevailed in Brazilian exports.