Brasília – Brazil invested 2.9 billion reals (US$ 1.7 billion) in cooperation projects with other countries from 2005 until 2009. According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), in partnership with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), linked to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, most of the investment (79%) was geared towards actions by international organizations and regional banks. The remainder of the funds were allocated to humanitarian aid, student scholarships and technical cooperation.
The United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization received 1.38 billion reals (US$ 816 million) from 2005 until 2009. Brazil is an active contributor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr), due to the growing number of refugees that the country has been accepting and to its international humanitarian aid actions, which are coordinated by the organization.
Brazil also contributes approximately 70% of the annual budget of the Mercosur Structural Convergence and Institutional Strengthening Fund (Focem). During the period surveyed, over 430 million reals (US$ 254 million) were allocated to the fund, representing 30% of contributions to international organizations. Established in 2004, the Focem aims to increase the competitiveness of the four countries that comprise the Southern Common Market: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Over the five-year period, Brazil made non-refundable investments of over 800 million reals (US$ ) in regional development banks. The capital was allocated to the paying-in of capital from funds in regional banks of which Brazil is a part. The institutions of which Brazil is a shareholder – World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD) and the African Development Bank (ADB) – contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries. Brazil does not receive money from these funds.
The survey also included investment in humanitarian aid, which took place mostly in Latin American and Caribbean countries. These regions have retained a 76.27% share of direct aid, a figure equivalent to 107.81 million reals (US$ 637.8 million) during the period surveyed. The leading Brazilian humanitarian aid targets include Cuba, Haiti and the Palestinian territories, which accounted for 53% of total aid sent, i.e. 83.307 million reals (US$ 49 million).
The granting of scholarships to foreign students in Brazil or abroad accounted for 10% of Brazilian cooperation (284.07 million reals or (US$ 168 million). Most of these scholarships were training-oriented. Approximately 50% of them are granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, by means of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The remained is divided amongst the Foundation for Improvement of Higher Education Students (Capes), which allocated 28% of the funds, and the Higher Education Secretariat of the Ministry of Education, which distributed 20%. The remaining 2% were allocated by the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
Federal funds invested in technical, scientific and technological projects and programs reached 252.6 million reals (US$ 149.4 million). In bilateral cooperation, Brazil concentrated on horizontal technical cooperation projects aiming to promote structural change in the economies of countries and sustainable growth, so as to guarantee social inclusion and respect to the environment. This type of cooperation is associated with the South-South axis.
Another type of cooperation is triangular technical cooperation with developed countries and international organizations. The main partners of Brazil’s in trilateral cooperation are Japan, the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Argentina and Spain. Areas of work range from fighting child labour, civil aviation, education, healthcare, malaria prevention and control, the modernization of legal procedures, public administration, information society, labour relations and infrastructure improvement.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
