Address: 101 Thomson Road #29-01/03, United Square
Singapore 307591
Tel: 6603 9365/ 6603 9373 Fax: 6256 6619 Email: ambassador.cingapura@itamaraty.gov.br
National Day: Independence Day 7 Sep
2019 Embassy Activities Round-Up
Brazil and Singapore Make Waves Together in 2019
President Jair Bolsonaro met PM Lee Hsien Loong at the sidelines during the Osaka G20 talks
The year ended has been magnificent for the ties that bind the businesses and experts of Brazil and Singapore. Much that is noteworthy and transformational has been accomplished jointly.
Ambassador Flávio Damico, who has just ended his stint is being replaced by Ambassador Eugênia Barthelmess, who is set to inject new vigour into Brazilian projects here. President Jair Bolsonaro completed his first year in office, leaving an indelible mark in Brazil’s globalisation agenda. A high point for bilateral relations was his encounter with PM Lee Hsien Loong during Osaka’s G20 talks.
The PianoBotanica concerts at Singapore’s Botanic Gardens is a major attraction of Brazil’s National Day celebrations
Other luminaries travelled to Singapore with specific agendas. The Lemann Foundation launched two trips to glean the framework of Singapore’s educational success and also to source ways of upgrading Brazil’s civil service and hence its governance, having seen Singapore’s overall excellence in all its pursuits. ENAP, the National School of Public Administration, sent a similar team.
In business, logistics and exports, the Trade & Economic section of the Embassy worked feverishly. Aided by that team, delegates from Santos port enjoyed a busy schedule while seeking partnerships, benchmarks, automation, investments and more. Similarly Senator Roberto Rocha, from Maranhão state, came with a view to developing the Itaqui port and a coastal resort stretch.
A mission of retailers from Salvador sought digital solutions, in e-commerce, fintech, payments, inventory, blockchain and more. From Rio de Janeiro, its industrial federation, or FIRJAN, sent delegates to partner with technology hubs, from the Singapore Manufacturing Federation to R&D centres such as the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials and the start-up 2D Materials Pte. Ltd., both led by Brazilians based here. Again, the Trade and Economic section of the Embassy secured good results.
One word is heard at every turn: innovation, reiterated by every delegate. INPI, the National Institute of Industrial Property, was present at Singapore’s IP Week so as to understand intellectual property realities and to ink an agreement with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
The dialogue toward a Singapore-Mercosur trade agreement has continued; it is aimed at materialising in the early 2020s. On the fun side, Brazilians provided some cheering moments at the PianoBotanica music event amidst the lush expanses of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Speaking of nature, one sees in every mall in Singapore a counter offering a bowl of açaí, that wondrous Amazon berry. Clearly, from trade matters to skill-building, from business talks to musical enjoyment, and from innovation to natural products, Brazil and Singapore have much to celebrate together.
