São Paulo – The governments of Brazil and Yemen have signed a technical cooperation agreement this Wednesday (6th) in Brasília, during a visit of the Arab country’s deputy minister for International Cooperation, Omer Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani. According to the ambassador Fernando José de Abreu, director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), linked to the Foreign Ministry, this is the first deal ever signed by the two countries.
“The importance of this agreement resides in the fact that it sets forth a legal framework for cooperation between the two countries,” the diplomat told ANBA. As of now, the parties will be able to enter into partnerships in areas of common interest.
“We have explained to the vice minister the principles that guide South-South cooperation, and how Brazil operates in this issue,” Abreu said. According to him, once a specific request is made by the other party – for instance: how to improve their coffee or cassava production – the ABC passes the request on to organizations active in the relevant field, and then a Brazilian mission might travel to the partner country in order to draft a joint project, or else the other country’s government may send technicians to exchange experiences in Brazil.
According to Abreu, Brazil has no projects of this kind on the shelf. “We react to demand,” he said. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) operates under a different model, according to the diplomat, in that it “has preset projects” which are at times connected with commercial interests.
The ambassador said the Yemenis have not defined specific areas in which they wish to cooperate. He remarked, however, that Brazil is “renowned for its expertise” in some areas of international cooperation, such as agriculture, healthcare, education, social inclusion and environment.
Another possibility, according to the diplomat, is “triangular cooperation,” whereby Yemen makes a demand, Brazil contributes its know-how, and a third party provides the funding. This idea has been discussed with countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which could act as financers.
Abreu also said the delegation headed by Abdul-Ghani has come to Brazil on a “prospecting” mission, i.e. to sign the agreement, discuss cooperation possibilities, find trade and investment opportunities, and engage in political dialogue. The Foreign Ministry offered luncheon in honour of the Yemenis, attended by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce CEO Michel Alaby.
According to Alaby, the delegation should pay a visit to the Arab Chamber headquarters in São Paulo next Friday (8th).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
