Alexandre Rocha, special envoy*
Brasília – The governments of Brazil and Tunisia want to provide incentives to the establishment of joint ventures between agribusiness organizations in both countries. This is one of the three main objectives of the cooperation agreement in the area of agriculture that was signed yesterday afternoon (16), in Brazilian capital Brasília, by the minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab country, Abdelwahab Abdallah, and the Brazilian minister of Agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues.
According to Rodrigues, the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of his ministry is going to discuss the theme at organizations that represent the various agribusiness sectors in Brazil. "The government will not have direct action in this respect, we want to start talks in the private sector," stated the minister. "It is the representatives of the businessmen who are going to show their interests," he added. The governments are going to act as intermediaries for the exchange of information.
The agreement also establishes technical cooperation in the agricultural area. "The idea is to give and receive support," stated Rodrigues. According to him, Tunisia, for example, has know-how in the cultivation of citric fruit, dates and tropical fruit. "The country is, also, a supplier of tropical fruit to Europe. They are even our competitors in this market," stated the minister.
The third main point of the agreement is regarding the exchange of information and technological cooperation about production of wood, from extraction in forests to use and conservation of the product. On the Brazilian side, these two items of the agreement will be in the hands of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
According to Rodrigues, the beginning of implementation of the treaty should be immediate. "It is not enough to sign, what is important is the attitude of implementation," he said. He guaranteed that the representatives of the Embrapa and the Foreign Relations Secretariat left the meeting in charge of proceeding with the agreement. "It should be implemented this year," he declared.
To Rodrigues, the actions generated by the agreement should result in an increase of trade between both countries. According to him, of the US$ 2.3 billion in agricultural products that Tunisia imports every year, Brazil has participation of just 4%. "We may greatly increase the sales of the products we already export, like sugar, coffee and soy oil, and others, like cattle beef, for example," he stated.
Abdallah recalled that Tunisia is a large producer of fertilizers, which answer to 90% of exports. "They are observing the increase of our cropland and may become important suppliers, as Brazil imports over 50% of its needs," pointed out Rodrigues. Phosphates are already the main item in the trade basket from Tunisia to Brazil.
Education
Yesterday, Abdallah met with the minister of Education, Fernando Haddad, with whom he signed a cooperation treaty in the area of university education. "Education makes it possible for people to come together," he explained. He also met with the Foreign Affairs advisor of the Presidency of the Republic, Marco Aurélio Garcia. Yesterday, the 3rd meeting of the Brazil-Tunisia Mixed Committee began, and it is scheduled to end today.
Today, the Tunisian Foreign Minister is going to meet with the president of the Lower House, Aldo Rebelo, with the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, with the minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, and with the Brazilian vice-president, José Alencar. Tomorrow he will travel to São Paulo, where he is going to participate in a business meeting at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
*Translated by Mark Ament
