Brazil–Czech Republic relations are the

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

between the

Federative Republic of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Czech migration to Brazil. Approximately 500 thousand Brazilians have Czech ancestry.Compatriotas tchecos no Brasil (in Portuguese)
/ref> Both nations are members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

History

The first Czechs to arrive to Colonial Brazil were Jesuits who arrived to the country to spread

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the country. In 1823, the first wave of Czech migrants arrived to Brazil, with most settling in the southern parts of the country. Czech immigrant and head of the Bata company,

Jan Antonín Baťa Jan Antonín Baťa (March 7, 1898 – August 23, 1965) (also known as ''Jan Antonin Bata'' or ''Jan Bata'', called The King of Shoes) was a Czech- Brazilian shoe manufacturer from Uherské Hradiště (southeastern Moravia), half-brother of Tomáš ...

, founded several towns throughout southern Brazil. At the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Brazil and newly created

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(which included present day Czech Republic and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) established diplomatic relations in 1918.Diplomatic relations between Brazil and the Czech Republic
/ref> In 1920, Czechoslovakia opened a diplomatic legation in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

and in 1921, Brazil opened a diplomatic legation in Prague. In March 1939, diplomatic relations were interrupted between both nations with the arrival of the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

in Prague and the creation of the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...

.Bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Brazil (in Portuguese)
/ref> Czechoslovakia also had to hand over its embassy in Rio de Janeiro to the Germans. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Brazilian and Czechoslovakian soldiers fought alongside each other in the Italian Campaign. In 1942, diplomatic relations were re-established between Brazil and the

Czechoslovak government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia ( cz, Prozatímní vláda Československa, sk, Dočasná vláda Československa), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechos ...

based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Between 1940 and 1950, a second wave of Czech migrants arrived to Brazil, settling mostly in the central western parts of the country. In 1956,

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

was elected

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

, the first of Czech origin. In 1960, both nations elevated their diplomatic missions to the status of embassies. In 1988, Prime Minister

Lubomír Štrougal Lubomír Štrougal (born 19 October 1924) is a Czech former politician, who was the prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1970 to 1988. Life and career Štrougal was born in Veselí nad Lužnicí. After compulsory service in German industry ...

became the first Czechoslovak head-of-state to visit Brazil. In 1990, President

Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...

became the first Brazilian head-of-state to visit Czechoslovakia. In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the two sovereign states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as the "Velvet Divorce". In 1994, Czech Prime Minister

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

paid the first official visit to Brazil since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Since then, there have been several high level meeting between leaders of both nations. In January 2019, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

in Davos, Switzerland.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Brazil to Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic * Foreign Minister Roberto Costa de Abreu Sodré (1989) * President

(1990) * President

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...

(2008) High-level visits from Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic to Brazil * Prime Minister

(1988) * Prime Minister

(1994) * Foreign Minister

Josef Zieleniec Josef Zieleniec (born 28 May 1946) is a Czech politician and former Member of the European Parliament. From 2004, was a member of the SNK European Democrats (SNK-ED). In the European Parliament, he was a member of the European People's Part ...

(1995) * President

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

(1996, 2009) * Foreign Minister

Jiří Šedivý Jiří Šedivý (born 20 August 1963) is a Czech politician and diplomat. Although not member of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Šedivý has served in various ministerial positions in ODS-led governments. Specifically, he served as Minister ...

(1998) * Foreign Minister Jan Kavan (2002) * Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek (2006)

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed a few bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Trade and Taxes (1931); Agreement for Economic and Industrial Cooperation (2008); Agreement for a Joint Bilateral Committee (2009); Agreement in Defense Cooperation (2010) and a Partnership Agreement between Embraer and Aero Vodochody (2011).

Trade

In 2017, trade between Brazil and the Czech Republic totaled US$600 million. Brazil's main exports to the Czech Republic include: raw materials; ores; meat products; fish and airplanes. Czech Republic's main exports to Brazil include: piston combustion engines and their parts; motor vehicles parts and components; liquid pumps; electric motors and pipes and tubes. Brazil is the Czech Republic's largest trading partner in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Brazilian multinational company Embraer operates in the Czech Republic.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Brazil has an embassy in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. * Czech Republic has an embassy in

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

and a consulate-general in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

.Embassy of the Czech Republic in Brasília
/ref> File:Praha-Nové Město Neubergovský palác 1.jpg, Embassy of Brazil in Prague File:Embassy of the Czech Republic in Brasília, Brazil 489494 377501 IMG 2033.jpg, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Brasília

References

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