Minister of Communications receives European Union ambassador and strengthens relationship

This is a machine translation of Brazil's communications ministry's press release

The Minister of Communications, Juscelino Filho, received, this Thursday (12), the ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Brazil, Ignacio Ybáñez, and part of the embassy team. During the courtesy visit, the ambassador wished success in the minister's management and informed that EU Member States want to make digital alliances with Latin America, starting with Brazil. Minister Juscelino Filho confirmed Brazilian interest in the partnership, including the forecast of bilateral meetings this semester.

The Minister of Communications stated that “there is total willingness to continue this successful partnership that Brazil has always maintained with the European Union and the concrete actions that have already been carried out as a result of this cooperation, which are strategic and important for our country”.

Of the 27 EU Member States, 24 have an embassy in Brazil. In addition, Brazil has the presence of large European companies, such as Nokia and Ericsson, in addition to large operators, which are Telefônica (Vivo) and TIM. Ambassador Ignacio Ybáñez endorsed that the partnership between nations has always brought good results for all. “We had annual dialogues on very important topics, such as 5G and Artificial Intelligence and we know that they are a priority. Our will is really to resume these dialogues”, commented the ambassador.

INITIATIVE BRASILEIRA – During the courtesy visit, Ignacio Ybáñez praised the BELLA project: the first direct connection, via submarine fiber optic cable, between South America (departing from Fortaleza/CE) and Europe. The initiative came from the Telecommunications Secretariat which, at the time, was linked to the then Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC). The cable, which is 6,000 km long, was inaugurated in June last year .