BRAZIL: Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto meets his Brazilian counterpart to enhance cooperation and discuss reforms in the United Nations Security Council

Record ID: 465018

  • Title: BRAZIL: Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto meets his Brazilian counterpart to enhance cooperation and discuss reforms in the United Nations Security Council
  • Date: 1st July 2011
  • Summary: BRASILIA, BRAZIL (JUNE 30, 2011) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF EXTERIOR OF BRAZIL'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY BRAZILIAN AND JAPANESE FLAGS VARIOUS OF HONOR GUARDS IN FRONT OF MINISTRY BRAZIL'S FOREIGN MINISTER, ANTONIO PATRIOTA, WAITING FOR JAPANESE DELEGATION JAPANESE DELEGATION ARRIVING AT MINISTRY BUILDING JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TAKEAKI MATSUMOTO COMING OUT OF CAR MATSUMOTO WALKING TOWARDS MINISTRY ENTRANCE PATRIOTA GREETING MATSUMOTO MATSUMOTO GREETING BRAZILIAN OFFICIALS MATSUMOTO AND DELEGATION WALKING MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA WALKING UP STAIRS MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA SITTING AT DESK MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA SIGNING DEALS PHOTOGRAPHERS MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA IN CEREMONY FOR SIGNING DEALS MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA IN MEETING VARIOUS OF MATSUMOTO ARRIVING IN NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA IN NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TAKEAKI MATSUMOTO, SAYING: "We have values, natural resources and energy that we can share, and we also identify ourselves a lot with Brazil. We want to strengthen this relationship even more -- not only with Brazil, but with Mercosur as well. We want Mercosur as a whole to get stronger and make progress." REPORTER TAKING NOTES CAMERAMAN (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANTONIO PATRIOTA, SAYING: "Lately we have been developing an initiative in New York to generally consult all members of the U.N. about a proposal, which can become a resolution project. It's a very simple proposal on the enlargement of the two categories of members of the Security Council." MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA SHAKING HANDS VARIOUS OF MATSUMOTO AND PATRIOTA LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE AND MINISTRY BUILDING MATSUMOTO'S CAR TAKING AWAY
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil, Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA19R5S924ZWHM1G839SDZWTM9W
  • Story Text: Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto met his Brazilian counterpart Antonio Patriota on Thursday (June 30) as he continued his push to develop stronger ties with South American nations.
    Matsumoto arrived in the capital Brasilia in the morning after attending a Mercosur summit in Paraguay in an effort to boost trade relations with the region's resource-rich countries.
    Both ministers signed cooperation deals worth 1 billion reais ($641 million dollars) in infrastructure projects to be carried out in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo and Para.
    In a joint news conference after a private meeting, Matsumoto said Japan and Mercosur had a lot to offer to each other.
    "We have values, natural resources and energy that we can share, and we also identify ourselves a lot with Brazil. We want to strengthen this relationship even more -- not only with Brazil, but with Mercosur as well. We want Mercosur as a whole to get stronger and make progress," he told reporters.
    Patriota said that Brazil and Japan were also working together to promote reforms in the United Nations as both have been seeking a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
    "Lately we have been developing an initiative in New York to generally consult all members of the U.N. about a proposal, which can become a resolution project. It's a very simple proposal on the enlargement of the two categories of members of the Security Council," he said.
    Brazil and Japan, along with India and Germany, have ambitions to win a permanent seat in the Security Council, which they say now reflects an outdated post-World War Two global order.
    Matsumoto, the first Japanese foreign minister to attend a summit of the Mercosur bloc, aimed to launch an economic dialogue to explore the possibility of signing a free trade agreement.
    Member countries Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay gave him a warm reception and also offered support to help Japan's economy, which is still struggling to recover from the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
    Trade summits between Brazil and Japan reached 14.1 billion dollars in 2010.
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