São Paulo – The representative office of Brazil in Ramallah, Palestine, will have a new head, Oswaldo Biato Jr., who’ll take over from Alessandro Candeas. The appointments were published on the Official Gazette on Monday (19) and signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The name of Oswaldo Biato Jr. was approved by Palestine in early July, as Brazil’s foreign affairs ministry announced on the occasion. He served as Brazil’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, concurrently representing the country in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, from 2011 to 2013. He also represented Brazil in Ukraine and Moldova from 2016 to 2020 and is currently Brazil’s ambassador to Georgia.
In the European country, Biato Jr. will be replaced by Carlos Ceglia, who currently represents Brazil in Ankara, Turkey. In an order published on the Official Gazette on Tuesday (20), Lula submitted for the consideration of the Federal Senate the nominations of Ceglia and Felipe Santarosa, who will serve as ambassador to Suriname. Nominees for ambassadorial positions are always vetted by the Senate before assuming their posts abroad.
Exports to Palestine increased
Candeas took over Brazil’s office in Ramallah at the end of 2020 and told ANBA in April of the following year that he aimed to expand trade exchanges between the two countries in addition to the humanitarian aid. In 2023, Brazil’s exports to Palestine reached one of the best results in history, the diplomat stated in an article published by ANBA. Last July, Brazil ratified Palestine’s free trade agreement with Mercosur.
Candeas was nominated by Lula to take on the position of Consul General of Brazil in Lisbon, Portugal. Wladimir Valler Filho, who currently holds this position, will lead the Consulate General of Brazil in Hong Kong.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
