MANILA, Philippines — The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Mauro Vieira, is set for an official visit to the Philippines this August 23, marking the first ever visit to the Philippines by a Brazilian foreign minister since the establishment of diplomatic relations nearly 80 years ago, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
In a statement, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the Philippines and Brazil delegations are scheduled to have a bilateral meeting.
Brazil and Manila will engage in discussions that will assess the current state of relations and consider opportunities to advance the relationship, it said.
Secretary Manalo and Minister Vieira will discuss trade, investments, technical cooperation, and collaboration in agriculture, defense, education, and multilateral issues.
“Among the agreements slated to be signed during the visit cover technical cooperation, cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and education,” the DFA said.
Space discussions will be a key topic at the bilateral meeting, as the Philippine government is currently exploring this venture.
President Ferdinand Marcos earlier directed the Philippine Space Council to make space technology more accessible by using it to assist government agencies.
“So there’s a directive to make this data more accessible and useful to government agencies in carrying out their mandates,” PhilSA Director General Joel Marciano Jr. said in a televised briefing.
“Whether it’s for disaster risk reduction and management, environmental protection, maritime domain awareness, or monitoring of our natural and built environment — agriculture, especially,” he said.
