São Paulo – As of August 1, diplomat Paulino Franco de Carvalho Neto will take up the post of ambassador of Brazil to Cairo, the Egyptian capital. Before traveling to the Arab country, Carvalho Neto visited the headquarters of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in São Paulo and took the opportunity to see his two children who live in the capital of São Paulo.
This will be his second post as ambassador. The first was in Luanda, Angola, from 2016 to 2020. After that period, Carvalho Neto was Secretary of Multilateral Political Affairs of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was in charge of Brazilian negotiations during COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. “[This work showed that] the Brazilian Foreign Ministry is always ready to work, no matter which government is in charge, our mission is technical and diplomatic,” he said.
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The Curitiba-born 62-year-old diplomat told ANBA he is in a moment of conversations and learning, in addition to reading, to get to know Egypt and bilateral relations to the fullest. “As an ambassador, I intend to increase bilateral trade, and for that, we already have a fundamental instrument, the Mercosur-Egypt free trade agreement,” said Carvalho Neto.
The two countries already have sound trade relations. Last year, Egypt ranked third among the main Arab buyers of Brazilian goods, behind the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Brazil exported USD 2.8 billion to the country of the Giza pyramids. The main products were maize, sugar, beef, and iron ore.
“Concerning political ties, next year we will celebrate 100 years of continuous diplomatic relations between Brazil and independent Egypt, and this could lead to Brazilian authorities traveling to Egypt and Egyptian authorities to Brazil; it will be noteworthy to celebrate this date. Brazil is a very beloved country by Egypt, and Egypt is also a country that attracts a lot of attention from Brazilians due to its millenary history and its importance in the Arab world,” he said. He recalled Egypt has the largest Arab population in the world.
Carvalho Neto wants to intensify trade in agricultural commodities, but not only that. “We also have the possibility for Brazilian companies to settle in Egypt, making use of the free zones, especially the Suez Canal, taking advantage of Egypt’s trade agreements with other countries in the region and the European Union, and eventually Brazilian companies could benefit from that,” he said.
Another possibility that caught the ambassador’s attention during his visit to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) was the production of tropical wheat in the Midwest of Brazil. “The production of tropical wheat may be of interest to Egypt, a major importer with a population that consumes bread three times a day,” he said. The ambassador visited Embrapa as part of his preparation to take the post in Cairo.
Regarding tourism, the ambassador said he is optimistic and wants to increase the flow of Brazilians visiting Egypt. “If you look at the social networks and conversations, Egypt is trending; Brazilians want to visit it. We have the prospect of a nonstop flight between Guarulhos International Airport and Cairo International Airport, which is expected to start this year. With that, we will have a greater flow of Brazilians going to Cairo, which means the embassy needs to be well-prepared for consular assistance,” he said. For Brazilians, a visa for Egypt can be obtained on arrival.
“We have all the conditions to intensify these economic, political, commercial, diplomatic, and cultural relations,” he said.
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Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
