Boosting QI for German-Brazilian trade: BMWE and MDIC hold the Annual Meeting of the QI working group at the occasion of the German-Brazilian Economic Meeting

In mid-June 2025, a delegation from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) participated at the German-Brazilian Economic Meeting  in Salvador de Bahia, to advance an important component of international cooperation: Quality Infrastructure (QI). Starting in Salvador, a major trade and economic center in Brazil, continuing to the BRA capitol, Brasília, the trip brought together institutions, ministries, and companies to reinforce the German Brazilian QI Dialogue and jointly explore its future agenda priorities.

The visit started in Salvador with participation in the 41st German Brazilian Economic Meeting (DBWT) – the central forum for bilateral economic exchange, bringing together over 900 participants from business, government, and institutions. The German delegation was led by Parliamentary State Secretary Gitta Connemann, who took part in the session of the 51st German Brazilian Joint Economic Commission, held in cooperation with the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.). The main topics discussed were energy, climate, the environment, metrology, agribusiness, the digital environment, investments in infrastructure, as well as the Hannover Industrial Fair 2026, in which Brazil will be a partner country.

On the technical side, the delegation held bilateral talks with Inmetro and industry representatives. A highlight was the Stakeholder Dialogue of the German-Brazilian Working Group on Quality Infrastructure (WGQI), where representatives from ministries, industry associations, and companies discussed shared priorities on QI such as market surveillance for eCommerce, AI standardisation, and digital instruments like the product passport. These discussions aligned closely with the five thematic areas of the newly adopted Work Plan 2025–2027: digital transformation of QI systems, trustworthy and sustainable AI, efficiency of market surveillance, assessing QI’s economic impact, and improved communication on QI.

The visit ended in Brasília with the Annual Meeting of the DEU-BRA Working Group on QI, hosted by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade and Services (MDIC). The session provided an opportunity to review ongoing cooperation and discuss potential areas of alignment. Conversations focused on how QI can contribute to innovation, support emerging technologies such as AI and industrial data spaces, and help reduce trade barriers through smarter, risk-based regulation. Both sides expressed their commitment to continuing the technical dialogue, particularly on topics such as the digitalisation of QI systems highlighting interoperability as key feature to promote products conformity internationally, and the resource efficiency in AI systems. A key outcome was the adoption of the joint work plan 2025–2027, outlining the next steps for bilateral cooperation.