Brazil and France have signed a €200 million loan with the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES). The aim? To help the BNDES achieve sustainable economic and social development while preserving the country's natural heritage - mainly in the Legal Amazon and the North-East region.
This funding is part of the bilateral cooperation roadmap endorsed during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Brazil in March 2024. It will contribute to one of his objectives of mobilising €1 billion in public and private investment to support sustainable development in the region over the next four years.
An area with high development potential
The project with BNDES will be deployed in an area with high developmental stakes, affecting sectors that are crucial to Brazil's climate, water, sanitation, urban development and renewable energies. By providing basic services to the inhabitants of these regions and supporting the productive sector in the direction of environmentally sensitive economic activities, it should have a significant impact on the bioeconomy in terms of biodiversity, the low-carbon trajectory, resilience, social cohesion and the sustainable economy.
In this context, the BNDES, represented by its President, Mr Aloizio Mercadante, and the French Development Agency (AFD), represented by Mr Dominique Hautbergue, Director of AFD Brazil South Cone, signed a €200 million loan in Rio de Janeiro on 19 November 2024, in the presence of Mr Antoine Armand, France's Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, and Mr Nelson Barbosa, Director of Planning and Institutional Relations at the BNDES.
This agreement comes just a few days after the one signed with the Amazon Bank (BASA) for €80 million in funding to stimulate the bioeconomy and sustainable finance practices of financial institutions in the Amazon. It is also accompanied by a €10 million technical cooperation programme, to be implemented by Expertise France, in close cooperation with other local and French players (CIRAD, local authorities, research bodies, incubators, think tanks, etc.).This signature comes a few days after that with the Bank of Amazonia (BASA) for financing of 80 million euros, to stimulate the bioeconomy and sustainable finance practices of financial institutions in the Amazon. It is also accompanied by a technical cooperation programme of 10 million euros, which will be implemented by Expertise France, in close cooperation with the support of other local and French actors (CIRAD, local authorities, research organisations , incubators, think tanks, etc.).
