The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held political consultation meetings with Brazil, during which the two countries focused on discussing regional issues and updates on the situation in the Latin American region. The Egyptian side was headed by Reda Habib, while the Brazilian side was headed by Fernando Abreux, undersecretary of state for Middle East and Africa affairs. The ministry said that the political consultations between Egypt and Brazil are a mechanism of review for their overall bilateral relations and that there is great attention given to the development of free trade relations, especially in light of the free trade agreement between Egypt and the Mercosur trade bloc. Egypt and Brazil have long-standing ties that extend to the 19th century, when Egypt welcomed the visiting Brazilian Emperor Tom Bodo VIII in 1876. There was a rapprochement in the 1950s and 60s between the two countries in the context of political movements such as the Non-Aligned Movement and economic movements such as the Group of 77.

Source: Daily News Egypt April 22, 2018 17:26 UTC