São Paulo – A group of Brazilian science and technology researchers and government officials is going to go on a mission to the Middle East on October 4th and 5th. During the trip, possibilities of cooperation between the two countries will be looked into in agricultural technology and research, water resources, and alternative and renewable energies such as biofuels. The mission is an action of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology and will be led by the head of the ministry’s advisory for international affairs, José Monserrat Filho.
"It gives us the opportunity to take part in the development of other countries, of using and perfecting our knowledge," says Monserrat with regard to the promotion of this type of technical mission, who claims that Brazil may share with Jordan the experience that its Northeast region has in arid land and scarce water resources, for instance.
According to Monserrat, Jordan is a relatively advanced country in the science and technology field. "Brazil sees the Arab countries as a very fertile and rich region for cooperation. Jordan is one of the most advanced countries in the region, and that justifies this cooperation completely," said Monserrat. He underscores that the action is part of the federal government’s policy of establishing closer ties with Arab and African countries.
During the mission, there should be meetings at the Ministry of Agriculture and at the Royal Scientific Society, one of the most important research institutes in the Arab country. The schedule includes meetings with authorities and research institute representatives. The Brazilian group should include eight people, among the representatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the director of the Institute for the Semi-Arid, Roberto Germano Costa, and specialists in water resources and biofuels.
The idea for the trip came up during the visit of the Brazilian minister of Science and Technology, Sergio Machado Rezende, to Amman, the capital of Jordan, in March this year. On the occasion, it was decided that a Brazilian exploratory mission would go to the Arab country. "We then started to exchange information with Jordan to reach common interest points," says Monserrat. Brazil and Jordan already have an umbrella agreement in the science and technology field, which backs up the actions and the cooperation. The agreement was signed during a visit of the Jordanian king, Abdullah II, to Brazil, in 2008.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
