British foreign secretary William Hague this week made a two-day visit to Brazil during which he had meetings with foreign minister Antonio Patriota and defence minister Celso Amorim.

The joint communiqué on the meeting between Hague and Patriota spoke of the 'new momentum' in the Brazil-UK relationship – already evident from the increase of more than 10% in total bilateral trade between 2010 and 2011, and from the UK’s expansion of its diplomatic presence in Brazil by opening a consulate in Recife last November.

Among the topics covered in the statement were the following:

- The UK’s continued support for Brazil as a permanent member of a reformed UN Security Council;

- The two countries' continued determination to work towards the creation of an independent Palestinian State;

- A shared commitment to combating global poverty and hunger – and the potential for sharing expertise in the area of food security as a specific means of benefiting low-income countries;

- Closer cooperation on security challenges, in accordance with the UK-Brazil Defence Cooperation Treaty signed in 2010;

- Mutual determination to ensure a successful UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), taking place in Rio de Janeiro in June;

- The growing academic partnership, including the UK's commitment to welcoming up to 10,000 Brazilian students and researchers to British institutions by 2014 as part of President Rousseff’s 'Science Without Borders' programme;

- The strong cooperation that is already underway with regard to hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games (London this year, Rio de Janeiro in 2016), and its continuation under a coordinated programme focused on planning, security, accessibility and legacy development;

- The great opportunities for cultural cooperation offered by the 2012 and 2016 Olympics (with Casa Brasil already set to form part of this year's Cultural Olympiad in the UK, and UKBrasil running from September 2012 to March 2013 across Brazil).

Hague declared during the visit that 'the days of British retreat from Latin America are over' and that the UK welcomes Brazil's 'growing impact on the economic and political landscape of the world'.

Read the joint communiqué from the Hague-Patriota press conference on 18 January (text in Portuguese, then in English)

Read William Hague’s opening remarks at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on 19 January (from website of UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office)