The Brazilian city will host the 2nd edition of the Brazil-Africa Forum on August 28th and 29th, with government officials from 30 African countries, including Algeria and Morocco. The main topic will be infrastructure.

Next week, the city of Fortaleza will host the second edition of the Brazil-Africa Forum. The event is organized every two years by the Brazil Africa Institute and was created to foster closer relations between Brazil and African countries. This year edition will be themed “Infrastructure, partnerships and developments”. On August 28th and 29th, the capital of Ceará will receive government officials and delegations from 30 African countries, in addition to Brazilian government officials, public institutes and companies. They will take part in debates and deliver lectures.

From the Arab countries, OCP, a Moroccan fertilizer company which already operates in Brazil, the local ambassadors of Egypt, Hossameldin Ibrahim Zaki, and Mauritania, Abdellahi Nagi Kebd, representatives of the Sudanese Contractors Association, of the Sudanese ministries of Infrastructure, Transportation and Water and Energy Resources and the chairman of the industrial and trade conglomerate Cevital Group, from Algeria, Issad Rebrab have confirmed their attendance. The chairman of the Brazilian Sudanese Agribusiness Company, Paulo Hegg, will deliver the lecture "Agriculture with innovation: doing business and promoting social development" on Friday (29th), according to the event's schedule.

The president of the Brazil-Africa Institute and organizer of the event, João Bosco Ponte, told ANBA this Wednesday (20th) that the idea to have the forum arose out of the need to discuss a “shared agenda” of issues important to both Brazil and the African countries. Arab countries in North Africa, Ponte asserted, have shown interest in strengthening their ties with Brazil.

“I visited North African countries and noticed they are avid for closer ties with Brazil. We (the forum organizers) were seduced by the idea of carrying out an action with them. We should have a stand-alone event in the first half of next year in a North African country, which attests to their interest in effectively having closer relations with Brazil. A prime example of this interest is the return of Royal Air Maroc flights to Brazil, which brings the regions together,” he said.

According to Ponte, one of the reasons behind this desire to boost trade relations is the fact that major business partners of North African countries are European nations which are still trying to rebound from the crisis of 2008.

“They have been impacted by a European investment deficit and Brazil is proving to be a landmark, a safe haven for them. Furthermore, the Brazilian market is attractive for them,” said Ponte.

According to the event’s organizer, the other African countries show interest in strengthening trade and diplomatic ties with Brazil, which, in turn, sees them as an investment destination. Ponte mentions the presence of Brazilian business, especially construction companies, in the region and notes that the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has opened an office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In addition to the BNDES, the forum will feature delegates from Brazilian companies, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the National Confederation of Industry (CNI, in the Portuguese acronym), government officials from the state of Ceará, representatives of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the mayor of Fortaleza, Roberto Cláudio Rodrigues Bezerra, the Brazilian minister of External Relations, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, and the Brazilian minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Mauro Borges Lemos.

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