Good morning! Today, Bolsonaro meets with Putin. Brazil’s currency is enjoying a bounce-back. Petrópolis mourns residents after deadly rain storm. Industry figures not looking promising at the start of 2022.
What Bolsonaro seeks from Russia
President Jair Bolsonaro met this morning with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss matters important to bilateral relations. These include military cooperation, how to foster the sale of Brazilian weapons, increase Brazilian access to fertilizers from Russia, and how to increase trade between the two nations.
The entourage. Mr. Bolsonaro brought alongside him Foreign Minister Carlos França and Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto — who will both have meetings with their counterparts to discuss defense interests.
- The Defense Ministry took representatives from a handful of gun manufacturers along on the trip to Russia. Boosting gun sales from Brazilian companies has been a key agenda point for the Bolsonaro administration — and the country has not exported guns to Russia since 2015, per official data.
- Brazil also wants to obtain Russian military technology through cooperation agreements. As we reported weeks ago, the Brazilian Navy has its sights set on Russian nuclear submarine tech.
Agro. Russia is a key source of fertilizers for Brazilian farmers, and Mr....