Abroad

Rio de Janeiro African Venture

President Joao Figueiredo has just returned from the first visit to Africa ever made by a Brazilian head of state, the purpose of the visit being to give further impetus to Brazil’s effort to build its own power base in the Third World. A glance at the map shows Brazil’s relative geographic proximity to the African continent, and there is a further connection in the fact of a shared language with Portugal’s former African colonies. So President Figueiredo paid calls at Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. But he is not just a sentimentalist, so he also spent two days each in Algeria, Senegal, and Nigeria, far more important places from the economic point of view. Brazil’s financial situation has for some time limited the scope of its African adventures, but the interest remains keen, and some solid markets have been established beyond the cultural outlets in Portuguese-speaking communities. Algeria, for example, has proved to be an important market for Brazilian automotive products as well as for engineering contracts. A reciprocal trade agreement is under discussion in Lagos; it would involve credit exchanges between Nigeria and Brazil worth up to $1 billion. Brazilian authorities want the Third World to stop thinking of Brazil as economically tied to the United States, and to start thinking ofitasa country that has the capability and enthusiasm for becoming a valued trading partner elsewhere.

Featured Tags

Rio de Janeiro African Venture

President Joao Figueiredo has just returned from the first visit to Africa ever made by a Brazilian head of state, the purpose of the visit being to give further impetus to Brazil’s effort to build its own power base in the Third World. A glance at the map shows Brazil’s relative geographic proximity to the African continent, and there is a further connection in the fact of a shared language with Portugal’s former African colonies. So President Figueiredo paid calls at Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. But he is not just a sentimentalist, so he also spent two days each in Algeria, Senegal, and Nigeria, far more important places from the economic point of view. Brazil’s financial situation has for some time limited the scope of its African adventures, but the interest remains keen, and some solid markets have been established beyond the cultural outlets in Portuguese-speaking communities. Algeria, for example, has proved to be an important market for Brazilian automotive products as well as for engineering contracts. A reciprocal trade agreement is under discussion in Lagos; it would involve credit exchanges between Nigeria and Brazil worth up to $1 billion. Brazilian authorities want the Third World to stop thinking of Brazil as economically tied to the United States, and to start thinking ofitasa country that has the capability and enthusiasm for becoming a valued trading partner elsewhere.