MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

PM Cameron in Brazil on a two-day visit to boost trade and political links

The Prime Minister at the opening of a JCB plant in Sorocaba (Photo: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Brazil on Thursday to promote UK business and capitalise on the success of the summer Olympic games. Cameron first stop was Sao Paulo where he arrived with a 58-strong business delegation and opened a new £60m JCB factory.

PM Cameron flew on to Brazil after a trip to New York to speak at the United Nations, where he also fitted in an appearance on the David Lettterman show. Talking to reporters at the JCB factory, he laughed off the fact that he had been unable to explain the meaning of Magna Carta or say who composed Rule Britannia during the program.

The 350,000sq ft JCB plant in Sorocaba will potentially bring in £100m of business in orders from JCB companies in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wales.

JCB recently won a Brazilian government tender for £60m for 1,000 backhoe loaders for road construction and hopes to secure some of the upcoming £20bn infrastructure projects in Brazil.

“This visit is about British jobs, British growth and the British economy, because I want Britain to be tied up to the fastest growing economies on the planet”, said PM Cameron.

The Prime Minister was shown round the factory by JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford, who has written a report on manufacturing for the Government.

Sir Anthony said: “JCB is a British company. We are very proud to be a leading exporter of British-made products, but to be a true global company we need to manufacture in the markets which really matter in the world, such as Brazil.”

PM Cameron was welcomed by Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, who offered him a coveted invitation to the opening match of the 2014 football World Cup in Brazil. Thanking the governor, Mr Cameron noted that football was “a sport invented in Britain but perhaps perfected in Brazil”.

On the two-day visit, which is his first to Brazil as Prime Minister, Mr Cameron will also hold talks with President Dilma Rousseff.

PM Cameron has made fostering trade links with emerging economic giants a key foreign policy priority. He believes there are major opportunities for UK contractors to use the experience and expertise gained from the London Games to bid for work in Rio, which is hosting the Olympics in 2016.

Downing Street said 58 businesses and universities are represented on the trade delegation in Brazil. They include BA, BT, Deloitte, HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover. PM Cameron is also accompanied by the chairman of the London 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority Sir John Armitt for a visit to Rio de Janeiro, host city of the 2016 Games.