Brazil recognizes a Palestinian state and allowed a Palestinian embassy to be built in the Brazilian capital in 2010, Reuters has reported.
The country's foreign ministry has said that it finally ratified the agreement between the Mercosur trade bloc of South America and the Palestinian Authority that had been signed in 2011.
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 said on Monday.
Palestinian ambassador in Brasilia, Ibrahim Al Zeben, termed Brazil's decision as courageous, supportive and timely.
It is the effective way to support peace in Palestine, he said in a message to Reuters, adding that he hopes Palestine's trade with Mercosur, currently only $32 million a year, will grow.
The trade union of South American countries called Mercosur includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
To finalize the free trade agreement with Palestine, each of the Mercosur member states must also ratify the agreement.
The Israeli regime waged its brutal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out an unprecedented operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The regime has imposed a complete siege on the densely populated territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to more than two million Palestinians living there.
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