Relations between the Republic of Latvia and the Federative Republic of Brazil may be described as friendly and constructive. Geographical distance, however, is a factor hindering a more dynamic development of relations between both countries. The largest Latvian community in Latin America is to be found in Brazil. At the beginning of the 20^th century several thousand Latvians went to Brazil, and this is a significant factor in present day relations between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations

On 5 December 1921, Brazil recognised the Republic of Latvia de iure. During the second half of the 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s, from 1935 until 1946, Latvia had an Embassy in Argentina headed by Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Latvia Dr Peteris Olins who also represented the interests of Latvia in Brazil. After 1946 he moved to Brazil.  

After the events of summer 1940 Brazil indirectly and informally acknowledged that it did not recognise Latvia as part of the USSR until 1961, when President Cuadros who was on friendly terms with the then USSR, closed all diplomatic representations of the Baltic states in Brazil.

On 4 September 1991, assigned by the President of Brazil, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Rezek notified Latvia's then Minister of Foreign Affairs Janis Jurkans that Brazil recognised the independence of the Republic of Latvia and invited Latvia to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries. Diplomatic relations were established on 18 July 1992.

The first non-resident Brazilian Ambassador to Latvia, Luiz Felipe de Texeira Soares, was accredited on 1 May 1995. From 16 February 1999 to June 2000, the Brazilian Ambassador to Latvia was Gilberto Vergne Saboia; from 11 April 2002 to 1 August 2004, the Brazilian Ambassador was Elim Saturnino Ferreira Dutra. His successor, Oto Agripino Maia was accredited on 30 August 2005 and held his office until October 2006. The current Ambassador to Latvia, Antonino Mena Gonçalves, was accredited on 5 December 2006. The Ambassadors of Brazil to Latvia reside in Stockholm, Sweden.

On 7 July 2008 the first Latvian non-resident ambassador to Brazil, Artis Bertulis, was accredited in Brazil (with residence in Lisbon, Portugal).

In May 1998, Brazil approved Guntis Belevics as its Honorary Consul in Latvia (in office until May 2006). From February 2007, the Honorary Consul of Brazil in Latvia is Arturs Stikuts.

Since 1993, Latvia's interests in Brazil are represented by an Honorary Consul in the State of São Paulo, Janis Grimbergs.

Brazil has the largest Latvian community in Latin America. It is estimated that approximately 20 thousand Latvians currently live in Brazil; however, the exact number is unknown as Brazilian passports contain no indication of a person's ethnicity. One of the largest Latvian communities in Brazil is in Nova Odessa; in May of 2006 Nova Odessa celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of a Latvian community. The largest Latvian centre is located in the city of Ijui, in the very south of Brazil.

On 9 January 2000, an association for the support of Brazilian Latvians (Brazilijas latviesu draugu biedrība) was established in Latvia. The association has approximately 40 members in this country and its Chairperson is Brigita Tamuza. The aim of the organisation is to explore the Latvian Diaspora in Brazil within the context of the common history of the Latvian nation, and to facilitate and maintain cultural contacts between Brazilian and Latvian youth.

Mutual visits and meetings

• 26 August 1994 – visit to Riga by Carlos Moreira-Garcia, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil.
• Spring of 2001 – visit to Brazil by the Latvian Minister of Economy and the Latvian Central Co-operation Union Turiba.
• April, 2002 – meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Indulis Berzins, and Elim Saturnino Ferreira Dutra, Ambassador of Brazil to Latvia.
• 7–11 June 2005 – participation by Solvita Aboltina, Minister of Justice in Latvia, at the 4^th Global Forum on Fighting Corruption, in Brasilia the capital of Brazil.
• From 29 August to 1 September 2005, Oto Agripino Maia, the Brazilian Ambassador to Latvia visited Latvia on an accreditation visit.

On 13 September 2006, Ambassador Oto Agripino Maia, who was on a farewell visit to mark the end of his term of office in Latvia, met with President Vike-Freiberga and Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks.

On 5 December 2006, Antonino Mena Goncalves, the new Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to Latvia, arrived in Latvia on an accreditation visit.

From 10 to 13 June 2007, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the President of the Republic of Latvia arrived on an official visit to Brazil, upon the invitation of Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil. During her visit, President Vike-Freiberga met with President Lula da Silva, the presidents of the Federal Senate and the House of Representatives of the National Congress, the governors of the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and other senior officials. On her state visit, the President was accompanied by a delegation of 34 Latvian businessmen. The President also visited the city of Nova Odessa and took part in the centennial anniversary celebrations of the city, thus marking the fact that a large Latvian community settled there over a century ago.

On 10 June 2007, Oskars Kastens, Minister for Special Assignments for Society Integration Affairs met with Daina Gutmanis, the chairperson of the South American Latvian association and with representatives of the Latvian community in Nova Odessa. 

On 27 September 2007 in New York, the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Artis Pabriks, met with the Minister for Foreign Affaires of Brazil, Selsa Amorima. During the meeting a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Brazil

The first political consultations of the Foreign Ministries of Brazil and Latvia were held in Riga on 9 June 2008. The Brazilian delegation was headed by the Under-secretary of state of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, Everton Vieira Vargas. During the political consultations the Brazilian delegation also met with Latvian Minister of Culture Helena Demakova and the first Latvia – Brazil inter-state agreement was signed on co-operation in culture.

Agreements

1. Memorandum of Understanding on political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Brazil.

2. On 10 June 2007, during the Latvian President's visit to Brazil, a co-operation agreement between Jelgava and Nova Odessa was signed, with the aim of promoting the development of co-operation in various fields as well as in youth exchange.

Economic co-operation

Trade

2007  (according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia)

• Export

1. Lithuania – USD  1.104.276.549 or 14.92% of Latvia's total exports;

2. Estonia  - USD 1,012,996,060 or 13.71%;

3. Russia – USD 7,547,562,207 or 10.19%;

4. Germany – USD 641,778,696 or 8.68%;

5. Sweden – USD 572,475,044 or 7.73%;

...

73. Brazil – USD  1,656,744 or 0.02%.

• Import

1. Germany – USD 2,080,875,667 or 14.86% of Latvia's total imports;

2. Lithuania – USD 1,905,124,957 or 13.58%;

3. Russia – USD  1,275,941,206 or 9.08%;

4. Estonia – USD  1,104,605,815 or 7.89%;

5. Poland – USD  943,534,553 or 6.73%;

...

45. Brazil – USD  11,054,532 or 0.08%.

In 2007 Latvia had a negative trade balance of USD 9,397,788  with Brazil. Although Latvian exports to Brazil tend to increase, the amount of imports still exceeds export by almost eight times.

Main exports to Brazil by type of commodity in 2007,  M  USD

Main imports from Brazil by type of commodity in 2007, M  USD

Latvia – Brazil trade dynamic from 2002 to 2007, USD

Investment

(Lursoft data)

A Brazil – Latvia joint venture SIA Sucesso was listed with the companies Register of the Republic of Latvia on 3 March 2008, investment in the amount LVL 2000, in the area of clothing and accessories production. The investor is a private person.

Among Latvian companies, there is a growing interest in Brazilian know-how in producing bio-diesel and bio-ethanol. In 2006, two delegations of Latvian businesses interested in the field, visited Brazil.

In October 2006, the representatives of the Ostrich Growers' Association of Latvia took part in the World Ostrich Congress (WOC2006) in Sao Paulo. The next congress is scheduled in Riga, in 2007.

On 11 June 2007, in Sao Paulo, the Latvian – Brazilian Business Forum took place, with participation of 34 businesssmen from Latvia. The President of Latvia delivered a speech at the Forum.

Culture and education 

Latvia's presence in Brazil can be observed both in culture and sports. The choir Ave Sol, a boys' choir, the folk dance group Zelta sietins, the folklore group "Ceiruleits" and violinist Gidon Kremer with the chamber orchestra 'Kremerata' have all visited Brazil.

Since 1998, Latvian artists have participated in the Sao Paulo Contemporary Art Biennial (the world's second oldest art biennial after Venice) several times – in 1994, 1996, and 2002. In the Biennial of 2004, Gints Gabrans represented Latvia with the work Ka noklut TV ("How to get on TV?").

From 2000 to 2001, travelling photography exhibitions Vilinajums ("Temptation") and Kad saknes ar galotnem satiekas ("When the roots meet the tops") by Nora Vilmane were organized in Latvia. The exposition in the form of photo coverage featured the expedition in Brazil in 1999. The exhibition "When the roots meet the top" was also displayed in Brazil in 2001.

In November 2002, the Ventspils Museum and the digital design company DD Studio presented a digital exposition of the Ventspils Museum at the International Festival of Audiovisual and Multimedia Heritage F@imp.2002 in Sao Paulo organised by the International Committee for the Audiovisual and New Technologies of Image and Sound (AVICOM) in association with UNESCO.

In November 2006, pianist Dzintra Erliha and flautist Zile Udre presented concerts in Brazil.

In 2007 the Secretariat of the Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration funded two instructors to visit Brazil – a kokle player and a folkdance expert.

The association for support of Brazilian Latvians is working constantly on the projects of teaching the Latvian language in Brazil. As a result of these projects, a number of Latvian teachers have worked in Brazil. The documentary production company Vides Filmu Studija (VFS) in association with the foundation has produced a film about Latvians in Brazil.

In 2007 three Latvian youths from Brazil took part in the 3 x 3 summer camp.

From 29 March to 4 May this year a travelling photography exhibition "Another America" came to Latvia, organised by the Honorary Consuls to Latvia of six Latin American countries (Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Columbia and Uruguay) with the support of their respective embassies, the Honorary Consul of Brazil, Arturs Stikuts, with the support of the Brazilian embassy among them. This was the first time an exhibition on Latin America of this size had been presented in Latvia.

Contacts: 

Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Latvia in Brazil

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil

The Embassy of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Sweden