Regional cooperation is expanding

Brasilia, February 4, 2025 – Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Brazil Bolat Nussupov visited the Representative Office of the State of Santa Catarina to the Federal Government of Brazil and met with its head, Secretary Vânia de Oliveira Franco.

The agenda of the talks included issues of expanding regional cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Brazilian state in the fields of economy, trade, culture and education. The main focus was on the investment activities of the Brazilian company WEG from the state of Santa Catarina in Kazakhstan. In addition, the Ambassador shared the results of his visit to the capital of the state, Florianopolis, and a meeting with the Deputy Governor of the region, Ms. Marilisa Boehm, on March 23, 2023.

One of the agreements of this meeting was the possibility of opening an Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan in the state of Santa Catarina. In this regard, the Ambassador expressed a request to expedite the consideration of the candidacy of businessman and public figure Peter Feist for the position of Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the state of Santa Catarina. The parties also discussed the possibility of establishing a regional partnership between the state of Santa Catarina and one of the regions of Kazakhstan based on the draft memorandum submitted to the Brazilian side.

In connection with the intentions of the Brazilian side to organize the first joint visit of the state's business circles to Kazakhstan this year, the Ambassador presented Vânia Franco with a copy of the official invitation from the Government of Kazakhstan to the Governor of the state of Santa Catarina Jorginho Mello to the Astana International Forum (AIF) in May this year.

Given the federal structure of Brazil, regional cooperation is an important element in strengthening bilateral relations. Currently, partnerships between the regions of Kazakhstan and Brazil have been established between the Karaganda region and the state of Bahia (2022), the Almaty region and the state of Rio Grande do Sul (2024).

For reference: Santa Catarina is one of the most dynamically developing states in Brazil. The state's economy is dominated by agriculture, livestock, industry, automotive, instrument making and a rapidly growing service sector. Santa Catarina is home to WEG Corporation - the largest manufacturer of electrical equipment in the Americas and one of the world's largest suppliers of energy equipment and automation systems.