Agreement eliminates visa requirements for Brazilians to go to French Guiana

Brazil and France made official this Wednesday (1st), in a ceremony at Itamaraty, the end of the visa requirement for Brazilians to enter French Guiana. The exemption comes into effect on August 1st and aims to especially boost tourism and economic development on the border.

One of the main organizers of the agreement, governor Clécio Luís (Solidariedade), from Amapá - a Brazilian state on the border -, stated in an interview with CNN Brasil that this integration will also promote trade. Exchanges with French Guiana, but also with Europe, would be immediately boosted.

"In French Guiana, the average income is very high. So we benefit from this cooperation, we will have more products being sold. But this is not the big market, it is the immediate market. There is the European Union market. And as the Mercosur-EU free trade agreement is in progress, this border is a gateway for products", he said.

French Guiana, an overseas region of France, is Brazil's only land border with a European country. The "border" between Amapá and its neighbor extends for 730 kilometers. Clécio Luís also bets on increasing cultural exchanges.

France is the largest European investor in Brazil, with an investment stock of around US$69 billion. The Brazilian government estimates that more than a thousand French companies operate in the country and are directly responsible for generating around 500 thousand jobs.

Also present at the meeting, which took place at the Itamaraty Palace, were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, and the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noël Barrot.

Jean-Noël Barrot will visit the municipality of Oiapoque (AP) on Thursday (2). In addition to the agreement on visas, the French minister also discusses partnerships in Brazil in the areas of defense, environment, trade and investment.

Source: CNN