Brazil seeks trade relations with Uganda
Moses Talemwa recently met Joao Bosco Monte, the chief executive of the Brazil-Africa Institute, who was in the country to check out investment opportunities of interest to Brazil.
When will Brazil follow in the footsteps of its peers in the BRIC and come to Uganda?
Uganda should present itself to Brazil. Brazil is already close to Africa. Our former president Lula Da Silva set the agenda by stating that Africa is a priority. He led a delegation of businessmen to Africa and we have been investing there ever since. We have contacts with mostly Lusophone Africa - Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. Now we are looking at other countries. Nigeria is attractive, so is Kenya, South Africa, Ghana - but also Uganda. Uganda is especially ideal because there are a lot of similarities with Brazil, especially in culture and climate.
Are you here to build ties?
Well I'm here to look around, work with the puzzles of the relationship between Uganda and Brazil. The aim of the institute is to link Brazil with Africa. [Previously] we have had discussions with officials in Brazil ... with some of them being asked to pick a country where opportunities and infrastructure can be found. But the door in Africa has to be opened [by Africans]; everyone has to do their part of the job.
In Brazil, we have the largest watermelon producer in the world, a farm that produces one million melons daily. And compared to yours here, our watermelons and mangoes are huge. So, this kind of technology can be brought here for the benefit of the local farming community. But the way we work, we don't just come and impose ourselves; the most important thing is to collaborate with locals in whatever partnership we are involved in.
Do you have a support network for your projects in Africa?
Yes, we have the Brazil National Development Bank (BNDB), which is based in Johannesburg. The BNDB is now a brand on its own, and it usually supports a host of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Are you coming to Uganda to start companies that you control, like the others?
In Brazil, we believe in making a clear difference between cooperation and partnership. We prefer a partnership where one is at the same level, as long as it is good for both parties. There is an African proverb that "If you want to move faster - go alone. If you want to go further, go together. Our agenda is bilateral cooperation and every relationship with a country is different.
What about Ugandans seeking to invest in Brazil?
We welcome all kinds of investments. However, the Brazilian Investment Authority is open to work with you to determine what to do.
Source: allafrica.com
