Vice-president, ministers and executives travel to Russia and Poland

Vice-President Michel Temer is flying this Saturday (Sep. 12) on an official trip to Russia and Poland, where he is expected to follow a political agenda and lead a business mission in search of new deals and investments for Brazil.

Members of the entourage include a number of ministers: Armando Monteiro (Development, Industry and Foreign Trade), Kátia Abreu (Agriculture), Jaques Wagner (Defense), Eduardo Braga (Mines and Energy), Henrique Eduardo Alves (Tourism), Helder Barbalho (Fishing and Agriculture), as well as the ministers from the Secretariats of Ports, Edinho Araújo, and Civil Aviation, Eliseu Padilha.

In Moscow, the vice-president is to attend, alongside Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, the 7th Meeting of the Brazil-Russia High-Level Commission, with the discussion of such topics as economic and commercial cooperation, energy, defense, agriculture, science and technology, and space. The official entourage will also pay a visit to Brazil's pavilion at the World Food Moscow 2015, Russia's main food and drinks fair, and will also take part in the closing ceremony of the Brazil-Russia Business Forum.

Last year, Brazil exported $3.8 billion to Russia and imported $3 billion, reaching a $800 million surplus. Brazil is Russia's main provider of beef, pork, and chicken—products that account for 63.5% of Brazilian sales.

In Poland, Temer should meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz. He will also take part in the Brazil-Poland Business Forum, organized by the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Apex-Brasil).

In 2014, Brazil exported $484 million, mostly basic goods, to Poland, and imported $665 million, chief among which industrialized products. According to the vice-president, the Central European country has expressed increasing interest in the purchase of new aircraft from Embraer, from which the nation bought 25 jets between 2010 and 2012.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira