March 15, 2010 – New York – AJC welcomed Brazil’s announcement of final approval of a free trade agreement between Israel and Mercosur, an economic bloc composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Israel is the first country outside South America to sign a free trade agreement with Mercosur.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced his country’s approval of the FTA during his visit to Israel. He co-chaired with Israeli President Shimon Peres an economic conference attended by hundreds of Brazilian and Israeli business leaders. Brazil is Israel’s largest trading partner in Latin America.

“We salute President Lula’s desire to advance economic and scientific cooperation between Israel and Brazil,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “We hope other countries follow Brazil’s example – and the example of Brazil’s Mercosur partners – and seek to further cultivate trade with Israel, which will expand economic opportunity for all.”

The approval of the agreement is expected to increase trade by the billions of dollars, especially in the sectors of agriculture, education, science and medicine.  Israel had previously concluded free trade agreements with the United States, the European Union, Canada and Mexico.