Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Brazilian counterpart on the Brazilian government's response to the covid-19 pandemic, including the take-up of covid-19 vaccines.

The UK engages regularly with Brazil on the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines. Over the last two years this has been a core area of cooperation between our countries. The UK has supported the partnership between a Rio-based research institution, Fiocruz, and Oxford-AstraZeneca which has been fundamental to increasing the production of vaccines in Brazil.

In late October 2021, Secretary of State Sajid Javid met with Brazilian Health Minister Queiroga to discuss how we can continue and deepen our work together. In June 2021 my predecessor also discussed vaccine cooperation with Brazilian Foreign Minister França. In addition, senior officials in Brasilia regularly engage with the Brazilian government to ensure that we are working closely and effectively in the global effort to combat the pandemic. We look forward to continuing our productive and valuable partnership with Brazil in response to COVID-19.