Brazil has adopted a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in a show of support for the Palestinian statehood.

“The agreement is a concrete contribution to an economically viable Palestinian state, which can live peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors,” Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday in a statement.

Brazil put the deal with the PA into effect now after more than a decade of delay to confirm the nation’s firm support for Palestine’s statehood.

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, which recognizes a Palestinian state and allowed for its embassy to be built in the Brazilian capital in 2010, ratified the agreement on Friday.

The trade deal between the Mercosur bloc of South America and the PA had been signed in 2011.

A foreign ministry source said Uruguay also backed the Palestine deal, adding there was little resistance since Mercosur has a similar agreement with the Israeli regime.

Other Mercosur members — namely, Argentina and Paraguay — have yet to announce their decision if they want to follow Brazil’s lead.

Ibrahim Al Zeben, the Palestinian ambassador in Brasilia, said Brazil’s decision to adopt a free trade agreement with the PA was “courageous, supportive and timely.”

He said Brazil’s move is “the effective way to support peace in Palestine.”

The Palestinian ambassador expressed hope that Palestine’s trade with Mercosur, currently only $32 million a year, will expand in the future.

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