São Paulo – Brazil will assign agricultural attachés to nine Arab countries this year. They are expected to be assigned in August, according to information given to ANBA by the general coordinator of Agricultural Attachés at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Edilene Cambraia Soares.
These professionals aim to strengthen the ties of the Brazilian agricultural sector with the region where they are assigned to. As of now, there are no Brazilian agricultural attachés in Arab countries, according to Soares, but the ministry will send three of them to the Arab world.
One of them will work in Saudi Arabia, operating also in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. Another one will be stationed in Egypt, working also in Turkey, which is not an Arab country, and the third one will be in Morocco, working also in Algeria.
According to Soares, Arab countries are important partners to Brazil, from both the economic and social standpoints. “The countries from the Arab world that will host agricultural attachés were selected, mainly, based on the trade potential for agribusiness products,” said the coordinator in an email interview with ANBA.
There’s a decree that defines the activities of the agricultural attaché, among them seeking better access of Brazilian agribusiness products to local or regional markets, finding new business opportunities for the sector’s products, and spreading information on the sector’s trade trends.
The tasks of attachés also include coordinating support actions abroad to the agricultural sector’s products, following the consumption trends and quality requirements of the sector, organizing and taking part in meetings or events on topics of interest for the agricultural sector, and suggesting and facilitating contact with experts, importers and authorities in the country of work.
The professionals that will work in the Arab countries are yet to be chosen and assigned, an ongoing internal process among the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, according to Soares. These will be professionals with a high level of expertise and the selection will involve MAPA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the coordinator. There are a series of requirements to be eligible for the posts, which are not assigned to career diplomats.
Brazil already has agricultural attachés working in other regions of the world. In May of last year, the government increased from eight to 25 the number of these professionals in Brazil’s diplomatic representations abroad. The expansion is part of the strategy by the ministry to increase from 7% to 10% Brazil’s share in global agricultural trade, according to information made public by MAPA ten days ago.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
