BRASILIA: Brazil has enacted a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority, a pact that had been awaiting ratification for over a decade, in a move that shows support for the Palestinian people and stands in contrast to Israel.
“The agreement is a concrete contribution to an economically viable Palestinian state, which can live peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors,” Brazil’s Foreign Ministry stated on Monday.
Brazil, which recognizes a Palestinian state and permitted a Palestinian embassy to be established in its capital in 2010, ratified the agreement on Friday. The pact was initially signed in 2011 between the Mercosur trade bloc of South America and the Palestinian Authority.
It remains uncertain whether other Mercosur members will follow Brazil’s lead. Argentina’s right-wing government, headed by President Javier Milei, is not expected to do so. The foreign ministries of Uruguay and Paraguay did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Palestinian ambassador in Brasilia, Ibrahim Al Zeben, praised Brazil’s decision as “courageous, supportive, and timely.”
He described it as “the effective way to support peace in Palestine” and expressed hope that Palestine’s trade with Mercosur, currently only $32 million a year, would increase.
In May, President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva withdrew Brazil’s ambassador to Israel over its actions in Gaza. Lula faced backlash for comparing Israel’s offensive to the Holocaust. Brazil, along with many Latin American countries, supports South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Many Latin American countries, including Colombia, have taken similar steps, severing diplomatic ties with Israel in May over the conflict.
Since October 7, several countries have recognized Palestine as a state, including Spain, Norway, Ireland, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, and Armenia.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
