Cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and Asia
Brazil has Technical Cooperation Agreements in place with all Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa (PALOP countries) and Asia (East Timor). The common language and cultural proximity justify the priority given by Brazilian South-South cooperation to the relationship with these countries.
The bilateral cooperation agenda with PALOP countries and East Timor reflects the role that these countries represent in the Brazilian bilateral technical cooperation program, considering the 572 actions executed, in the period from 1998 to 2020, under the coordination of ABC, in several areas of development in partnership with Brazilian institutions, internationally recognized Brazilian institutions, such as FIOCRUZ, SENAI, federal and state universities, the Ministry of Health, the Office of the Federal Public Defender, the National Council of Justice, the Public Ministry, the Central Bank of Brazil, the National Cancer Institute, and the National School of Public Administration
Noteworthy in the Brazilian cooperation with PALOP countries are projects such as the Professional Training Centers, implemented in Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Saint Thomas and Prince, Angola and East Timor, which, among other objectives, foresee the improvement of the employability of the local young population, the expansion of the supply of qualified professionals for the market, and the increase of competitiveness in the industrial sector, establishing an important connection between international cooperation and promoting the improvement of economic and social indicators in the country.
It is also worth mentioning the "Human Milk Bank" project which, in partnership with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, has been implemented in 23 countries, among them Cape Verde, Angola, and Mozambique, and which directly benefits more than 1.8 million newborn babies, assisting 18 million mothers around the world. Brazilian cooperation, through institutions such as the Public Prosecutor's Office, the National Council of Justice, and the Public Defender's Office, has contributed to strengthening the justice systems in Mozambique, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, and Saint Thomas and Prince. In this context, it is worth highlighting the project developed in the Asian country that, in 14 years of execution, has implemented a public defender's office model.
Other international technical cooperation initiatives to be highlighted in the PALOP countries and East Timor are: the project for Institutional Strengthening of the Central Bank of Saint Thomas and Prince; the Implantation and Implementation of a Cashew Stalk and Other Tropical Fruits Processing Unit in Guinea-Bissau, the School for All Project, in Angola and Cape Verde, among other initiatives aimed at developing local capacities, generating work and income in these countries and, consequently, improving the welfare of their citizens.