PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA TO VISIT BRAZIL

Brasília, May 9- The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, will visit Brazil today. In Brasília, he will be hosted by President Dilma Rousseff.

The visit of President Maduro continues the sequence of periodic high-level meetings between officials of the two countries. Cooperation between Brazil and Venezuela includes initiatives on productive integration, food security, public policies, health and social and technological development. The two countries also support initiatives for trilateral cooperation in the Caribbean, focusing on family agriculture and social development.

Trade between Brazil and Venezuela grew sevenfold from 2003 to 2012. Last year, bilateral trade reached a record of US$ 6.05 billion. Brazilian exports of manufactured goods to Venezuela grew by 30% in 2012 and reached 65% of the exports. The process of accession of Venezuela to MERCOSUR follows the schedule agreed by the bloc, with the adoption of the MERCOSUR Common Nomenclature and the beginning of the convergence to the Common External Tariff.

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