Dear President Lula, you know that I'm always happy to come to Brazil, but today feels truly special because I know that between us, between our regions and our people, the best is yet to come. Indeed, tomorrow we will sign the EU-Mercosur agreement. But before that, it was important for me to meet with you, President Lula. For more than two decades, countless negotiators and their leaders worked on this EU-Mercosur agreement. It was 25 years in the making and now it is concluded. It is the achievement of a whole generation. But the political leadership, the personal commitment and passion that you have shown in the last weeks and months, dear President Lula, are truly second to none. So, thank you for your skillful steer throughout the negotiations and for delivering this historic agreement. And I also want to thank all the negotiators for their exceptional work over so many years.
The EU-Mercosur agreement sends a powerful message. It says, 'Welcome to the world's biggest market and largest free trade zone on the planet.' This is the power of partnership and openness. This is the power of friendship and understanding between peoples and regions across oceans. And this is how we create real prosperity. That is prosperity that is shared because we agree that international trade is not a zero-sum game. We are convinced everyone can and must benefit in terms of new jobs on both sides, better opportunities for our people and the business sector, and thus higher income. We want a world that is running on trust and teamwork. This is Europe's ambition and I know this is your ambition too.
Dear President Lula, you are a leader deeply committed to the values we hold dear: democracy, the rules-based international order, and respect. Respect for our planet, respect for communities, and respect for fellow nations. And this is the leadership we need in today's world. Next year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of our strategic partnership with Brazil. So, this agreement could not be more timely. It will multiply opportunities like never before with mutual access to strategic markets, clear predictable rules, common standards, and supply chains that become highways for investment. To me, this is the essence of rules-based trade.
But of course, our work goes on. The signature tomorrow will be only a first step. The next chapters are still to be written. The whole story will only be a complete success when people and businesses can feel the benefits of our agreement. And this should happen fast. When we deliver on the EU-Mercosur agreement, this will be a success story written by 700 million people.
Dear President Lula, I also welcome that Europe and Brazil are moving towards a very important political agreement on critical raw materials. It will frame our cooperation on joint investment projects in lithium, nickel, and rare earth. And this is key for our digital and our clean transition and also for our strategic independence. In a world where minerals tend to become an instrument of coercion, Europe's offer will always be different. We will always abide by the highest standards in terms of transparency, in terms of respect for the environment, and we will always make sure that local communities are the main beneficiaries of the value created. So, everyone benefits. It is indeed a true win-win because this is Europe's way of doing business.
I want to conclude by saying from the bottom of my heart, amigo. Thank you very much.
