Brazil will open government purchasing to foreign firms as a way of combating corruption, a top official said on Tuesday.

Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said Brazil plans to sign the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), an international treaty that aims to regulate the purchase of goods and services by the public sector through transparent bidding processes.

"It is the agreement with which we will also allow companies from abroad for all the purchases we make --equal treatment," Guedes told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"Brazil wants to get into the big league, the first division of best practices. This is really a frontal attack on corruption," Guedes said.

Guedes recalled that one of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's campaign pledges was to end corruption.

"And we know that a large part of the corruption was permitted exactly through government things, construction companies, government public works, and things like that," said the minister.

Brazil stands to benefit from the treaty through increased investment flows and better integration into global business chains, said Guedes.