Diplomatic relations between

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 ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

were first established in 1920. Over 800,000 Brazilians are of Polish descent making Brazil the second country with the largest Polish community abroad (after the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

).Polish Brazilians remember their culture
/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

In the mid 1800s, Brazilian Emperor Pedro II encouraged Polish migration to Brazil and supported the independence of Poland, which at the time was partitioned between the Austro-Hungarian Empire,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and German Empire. Brazilian diplomat,

Rui Barbosa Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician. Born in Salvador, Bahia, and a distinguished and staunch defender of civil liberties and ...

, advocated for Polish independence at the Hague Conventions of 1907.Brazil Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Poland (in Portuguese)
/ref>BRASIL E POLÔNIA – 90 ANOS DE RELAÇÕES DIPLOMÁTICAS (in Portuguese)
/ref> Between 1869 and 1920, over 60,000 Polish migrants immigrated to Brazil. Most of the Polish migrants settled in the state of Paraná. During

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 declared war on the

Central powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

. At the end of war, Brazil partook in the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

which saw the restoration of an independent Poland. Poland achieved its independence in 1918 and Brazil became the first nation 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 ...

to recognize Poland on 17 August 1918. On 27 May 1920, both nations established diplomatic relations and diplomatic legations were opened in each nations capitals, respectively. At the start of

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 ...

in September 1939; Brazil remained neutral after the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. On 22 August 1942, Brazil declared war on Germany and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

after the sinking of six Brazilian ships in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

by German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s. Both Brazilian and Polish troops fought alongside each other during the Italian Campaign. On 12 September 1945, Brazil recognized the Polish

Provisional Government of National Unity The Provisional Government of National Unity ( pl, Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej - TRJN) was a puppet government formed by the decree of the State National Council () on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-backed Provisio ...

. Soon afterwards, both nations re-opened diplomatic missions. In January 1961, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki became the first high-level government official to visit Brazil. Soon after his visit, both nations upgraded their diplomatic mission to embassies. In 1962, Brazilian Foreign Minister Francisco Clementino de Santiago Dantas reciprocated the visit to Poland. In May 1961, both Brazil and Poland signed an agreement on trade and an agreement on cultural and scientific cooperation in August 1963. From 1965 to 1985, Brazil was governed by a military dictatorship which placed the advancement of diplomatic relations between both nations on hold, in addition, Poland was experiencing the Solidarity Polish trade union movement protests during the 1980s which contributed to the collapse of communism in the country in 1990. In 1995, Polish President

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democrati ...

paid an official visit to Brazil, becoming the first Polish head-of-state to visit the nation. In 2002, Brazilian President

Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002. He was the first Brazi ...

reciprocated the visit to Poland, becoming the first Brazilian head-of-state to visit the nation. In January 2019, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz paid a visit to Brazil to attend the inauguration of President Jair Bolsonaro. In May 2020, both nations celebrated 100 years of diplomatic relations.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Brazil to Poland * President

(2002) * Foreign Minister

Celso Amorim Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim (born 3 June 1942) is a Brazilian diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 20 July 1993 to 31 December 1994 under President Itamar Franco and again from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2010 under President Lu ...

(2010) * Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo (2012) * Vice-President

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...

(2013, 2015) * Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo (February and May 2019) High-level visits from Poland to Brazil * President

(1995) * Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek (2000) * President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule, he was active in the Socialist Union of Pol ...

(2002) * Prime Minister

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950) is a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland for a year from 7 February 1996 to 31 October 1997, after being defeated in the Parliamentary elections by the Solidarity ...

(2003) * Foreign Minister

Radosław Sikorski Radosław Tomasz "Radek" Sikorski (; born 23 February 1963) is a Polish politician and journalist who is a Member of the European Parliament. He was Marshal of the Sejm from 2014 to 2015 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Donald Tusk's cabinet ...

(2012) * Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz (2019) * Chief of Cabinet Krzysztof Szczerski (2019)

Trade

In 2018, total trade between Brazil and Poland totaled US$1.8 billion. Brazil's main exports to Poland consist of mineral resources, machinery and electric devices, foodstuffs, chemicals and plastics. Poland's exports to Brazil consist of machinery and electric devices, chemicals, as well as plastics, mainly synthetic rubber. Brazil is Poland's main trading partner in Latin-America. Brazilian airplane company Embraer has sold airplanes to Poland which are being used by Polish flag-carrier LOT Polish Airlines and by the

Ministry of National Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. In 2000, member nations of

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Arge ...

(which includes Brazil) and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(which includes Poland) began negotiations on a

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

agreement.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Brazil has an embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. * Poland 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

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

.Embassy of Poland in Brasília
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazil-Poland

Bilateral relations of Poland

History

High-level visits

Trade

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References