São Paulo – Brazil will set up an outpost in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to speed up support requests from African states in domains such as agriculture, education, health, environment, and science and technology. The creation of this outpost, which will work in cooperation with the African Union, was promised by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during a speech at the institution’s headquarters in Addis Ababa in February this year. Brazil’s foreign ministry confirmed to ANBA on Thursday (22) that the establishment of this office is already being discussed within the Brazilian government.
The ministry said that the office aims to “accelerate” Brazil’s actions with the countries of the African Union and strengthen ties with the continent. Brazil currently doesn’t have any other outposts of this kind in other continents.
The Brazilian office will work alongside the embassy in Addis Ababa and maintain contact with the African Union, according to the ministry. It will be staffed by employees from Brazil’s agricultural research agency Embrapa, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), which is affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and state-run Fiocruz institute, an institution associated with the country’s Ministry of Health that is involved in research, holding of health actions, and dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there is no set date for the opening of the outpost yet, as the matter is still under review by the institutions that will have staff allocated there. Fiocruz, Embrapa and the ABC are currently studying the challenges and requirements for infrastructure, and budget needed to operate in the office.
Lula visited Africa in February
During his visit to Ethiopia, Lula advocated for extensive cooperation between Brazil and Africa. He said that multipolarity is an intrinsic and welcome feature of the 21st century and emphasized that a global growth cycle, which also includes reducing inequalities and preserving the environment, cannot be achieved without the developing countries. The African Union is the organization that promotes the integration of African countries, with 55 member states.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
