KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Brazil have agreed to improve the cooperation and coordination in various areas of mutual interest.
In a statement, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the agreement was achieved following a bilateral meeting with Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira at the sideline of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28).
"Both countries are committed to increase coordination between Malaysia and Brazil in areas of mutual interest, on the basis of a dialogue to promote cooperation on issues such as energy, environment and climate change, biodiversity, science, technology and innovation, and health.
"We also stressed the importance of bilateral trade and of mutual investment flows as vectors of development in both countries and reaffirmed the interest in expanding the trade agenda and the volume of trade," said Zambry.
He said they also reiterated the interest of both countries in conducting the 2nd Meeting of the Bilateral Joint Trade Commission and the 1st Meeting of Bilateral Political Consultations in 2024.
"Brazil welcomed the decision of Malaysia to join the Joint Communiqué 'United for Our Forests', adopted in Belém do Pará, during the Amazon Summit of Aug 9.
"Both countries also agreed that the dialogue on tropical forests should be led by developing countries with tropical forests themselves and should focus on the issues that countries with tropical forests define as priorities," said Zambry.
He added that both countries supported international and bilateral efforts to promote a just and equitable energy transition that takes into consideration the perspective of developing countries and contributes to the reduction of inequalities both within and among countries.
"The meeting also underscored the importance of concertation between Brazil and Malaysia in the coming years, taking into account that Malaysia will be chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2025 and Brazil will host the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2025.
"Both countries also welcomed the prospects to explore cooperation under the ASEAN-Brazil sectoral dialogue partnership, as well as to increase dialogue and coordination with BRICS and other South-South platforms."
Zambry also said Malaysia and Brazil had emphasised the importance of finding a permanent political solution on the Palestinian issue and called for an immediate ceasefire to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, as well as unhindered humanitarian assistance.