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Gim Argello helps strengthen the relationship between Brazil and Africa

Plenário do Senado- att Agência Senado

Portuguese Translation of the Week

Former President Lula significantly strengthened relations between Brazil and African countries. It is worth recalling that in 2002, Brazil had only fifteen African embassies in the country, which today amount to 35. President Lula aimed his efforts towards promoting social development through investment, credit program, cooperation and technological exchange, as well as encouraging the establishment of strong partnerships on issues such as agriculture, health, education and energy. It is also worth noting that from 2003 to 2013, foreign trade with Africa grew from USD$ 6 billion to more than USD$ 30 billion.

O ex-presidente Lula incrementou de forma muito forte as relações entre o Brasil e os países africanos. Vale lembrar, que em 2002, o Brasil tinha apenas 15 embaixadas africanas acreditas em nosso país, hoje elas já são 35. O esforço feito pelo ex-presidente Lula, no sentido de promover o desenvolvimento social; por meio de investimentos, créditos, cooperação e intercâmbio tecnológico; além de incentivar a construção de sólida parceria em temas como: Agricultura, saúde, educação e energia. Vale lembrar, que de 2003 à 2013 o comércio exterior com a África, cresceu de U$ 6 bilhões para mais de U$ 30 bilhões. 

This article has been translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original version on Dm.com.br.

In addition, over the past decade, at least 540 Brazilian companies have settled in African countries. To facilitate business transactions, Banco do Brasil and BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) allocated more than USD$ 5billion in export credit. Brazilian businessmen want more. Our entrepreneurs want to advance investments in the continent, not allowing that the free market be used solely by emerging countries such as China and India, who have the largest business presence in continent.

President Dilma Rousseff has already taken the first steps to improve education in Africa, and is investing about BLR$ 6 million on a project that involves Portuguese-speaking countries. With this, Africans are becoming increasingly attentive to Brazil.

Accordingly, in December 2013, the Ambassador of the Ivory Coast, Sylvestre A.AKA, accompanied by his counselor Raymond Daniel Bomoni and special advisor Lamine Kantê, visited the office of Senetar Argello Gin (PTB/DF) to officiate the visit that the president of the Chamber of Deputies of the Ivory Coast will make to Brazil during the first quarter of 2014. In an interview, the Ambassador stated, "The meeting with the deputy leader of Dilma Rousseff in the Senate, Gim Argello, was very fruitful. Our objective was to obtain the document that formalized the visit of the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Ivory Coast to Brazil. It is important to note that his visit will take place within the first quarter of 2014. The visit paid to senator Argello reinforces the relationship between the Parliaments of both countries, at the same time that it strengthens Brazil's relations with Africa, which has grown the last 10 years."

Senator Gin said, "I am honored to welcome Ambassador Sylvestre A.AKA to my office. He comes with a special motive, which is the visit of the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Ivory Coast to the Brazilian National Congress. Democracy will be strengthened on both sides, which is fundamental for the advancement of economic, cultural and social ties between the African Continent and Brazil. I must emphasize that President Lula and President Dilma, are, in this sense, true warriors. I have always been in favor of all the investments made by Brazil in Africa, demonstrating clearly that the destinies of our country and the African Continent are bound together. I am thankful for their visit and am sure that the president of our Congress, Renan Calheiros (PMDB) will put all his efforts towards receiving this important authority of Parliament of the Ivory Coast in the best manner possible.

Article translated by Anna Cardenas, Staff Intern for the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center.

Photo attributed to Agência Senado - Plenário do Senado via Flickr Commons.

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