Cooperation from Brazil to Abroad (South-South Cooperation)

Brazil's technical cooperation abroad, commonly known as South-South Cooperation (SSC), is implemented in response to requests received from foreign governments, through bilateral channels, or via international organizations with which Brazil has ongoing trilateral cooperation programs. In this respect, initiatives fall under one of the following segments: bilateral cooperation, trilateral cooperation, or cooperation with blocs of countries.

Upon receiving a request, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC, acronym in Portuguese) contacts Brazilian public and private institutions to check with them whether they are available to participate in the initiative, and if they are interested in sharing their technical knowledge with the requesting country. Afterwards, steps are taken towards drafting the project document. Brazil is mainly committed to sharing best practices and successful experiences that partner countries can adapt to their own contexts, so as to formulate their own policies and strengthen their institutional capacities. 

With regard to SCC, it is not necessary to invest a large sum of money to achieve excellent results to all parties involved. When adapting the knowledge transferred to their own context, partner countries make sure their own actions are sustained in the long term.

ABC has implemented about 3,000 SSC projects in at least 108 countries with the participation of more than 120 Brazilian institutions, both from the public and private sectors, which are renowned for their technical excellence and/or proven experience in results that contribute to promoting economic and social development.

The Agency also operates through strategic alliances with developed countries. It is the so-called trilateral cooperation, through which resources provided by a developed partner are combined with the Brazilian experience to implement joint initiates with another developing country.

Additionally, ABC has ongoing partnerships with 45 international organizations and blocs of countries. Brazil's technical cooperation abroad is based on the installed capacity of specialized national institutions. The main characteristics of this modality of cooperation are the following:

• It operates in three segments: bilateral cooperation, trilateral cooperation, and cooperation with groups of countries;
• Actions are implemented in response to requests made by developing countries;
• Such response is based on foreign policy guidelines and takes into account the specific interests of Brazilian cooperating institutions;
• Initiatives are focused on developing human skills and expertise, institutional competence, and productive capacity;
• There is no direct transfer of financial resources to partner countries, but rather sharing of knowledge and experiences related to public policies that have proven to be successful in Brazil;
• Among others, Brazilian cooperation is guided by the principles of horizontal relationships, neutrality, non-conditionality, and mutual benefits.