São Paulo – A forum will discuss Brazil’s relations with African countries on November 27, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Held by the This is Africa organization and Financial Times Live, the meeting is intended to convene leading players in Africa-Brazil cooperation. The goal is to enable constructive dialogue between the two regions, which are taking on increasingly important roles within the global scenario.
The forum’s website mentions a global shift in political and economic power, away from developed markets and into emerging countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa, and states that Brazil is at the cutting edge of this phenomenon. “Its growing engagement with Africa, under the banner of South-South cooperation, is symbolic of the global realignment of trade, policy and development ties. Brazil is now a vital strategic partner in the continent’s development, in key areas such as agriculture, technical cooperation and infrastructure development,” according to the website.
According to the schedule that has been released, the Brazilian delegates will include the general manager of Marcopolo in South Africa, Rodrigo Estevan Alves, the Odebrecht Africa Fund executive and head of Structural Finance at Odebrecht Africa, Portugal and United Arab Emirates, Gustavo Fontes, the diplomat Pedro Luiz Carneiro de Mendonça, the head of Fiocruz Africa, José Luiz Telles, the director of the Pinesso group, Gilson Pinesso, the head of the African office of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Erich Schaitza, and construction company OAS’ director for Africa, Leonardo Calado de Brito.
The bus manufacturing company Marcopolo owns a manufacturing unit in South Africa. Odebrecht Fund Africa is the holding company of Odebrecht Investimentos in Africa, and Fiocruz owns units in the continent, focusing on cooperation projects, plus a central office in Mozambique. Grupo Pinesso owns plantations in countries like Sudan; Embrapa has a cooperation-oriented office in Ghana; and the construction company OAS maintains operations in the region.
The debates will also feature African and international business leaders such as delegates from Standard Bank Africa, the World Food Programme, the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture, the African Export-Import Bank, the African Development Bank, Trade Projects, Technoserve and other organizations.
One of the topics will be the importance of South-South trade to global growth, and the role of Brazil and African countries in this process. A panel will also address the existing trade policy between Africa and Brazil, the role of governments, promising sectors and successful Brazil-Africa partnership models. Another topic is agriculture and Brazil’s contribution to its development in Africa, how the Brazilian private sector regards this opportunity, the issue of financing to these projects, and the role of science and research in this process.
There are free slots available to people from industries such as banking, finance, infrastructure, transport, agriculture, healthcare, education, non-government organizations, and paid slots for investment banks, investment promotion agencies, lawyers, consulting firms and others. Registration for the free slots is subject to the organizers’ approval.
Services:
Brazil-Africa Leadership Forum
November 27, 2013
Hilton Sandton Hotel – Johannesburg – Africa
Website: http://event.ft-live.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=70801&;
Information and registration: Daniella King – Telephone: +44 (0) 2078734511 – ftlive@ft.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum