On Tuesday, July 21, Sergio Segovia, president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil), and Celso Moretti, president of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, signed a General Cooperation Agreement (GCA) between the institutions and a Technical Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to Attract Investments, which included the definition of a work plan to guide the first activities of the partnership. The ceremony for the signature, held at the Agency's headquarters in Brasília, was attended by Brazil’s Agriculture, Livestock and Supply minister Tereza Cristina. The partnership aims to help strengthen Brazilian agriculture and livestock in Brazil, and stipulates joint efforts to increase the sector's competitiveness and insertion in global value chains, through the sinergy between agricultural research, international promotion of Brazilian agriculture and foreign investment raising agendas. We will combine our expertises to promote the best that the country has to offer, with the understanding that agribusiness is Brazil’s main driving force. These agreements will open up new work fronts for Apex-Brasil, in initiatives related to innovation via startups and to the attraction of investment into agricultural research and development. Additionally, we might also work on content development, not only to increase the production and availability of market intelligence material but also to promote the country as a crucial player in global agribusiness”, stated the president of the Agency, Sergio Segovia. For us, this partnership will allow Embrapa and Apex-Brasil to access markets and investors, enabling funds to be raised and more robust investments to come to Brazil. I have participated in several missions coordinated by Apex-Brasil, including a recent one to the United Arab Emirates, for instance, and I see great opportunities for our joint work”, stated Celso Moretti, president of Embrapa. He underscored some of the points that the Agreement will facilitate: promotion of action with startups that use Embrapa's technologies; attraction of investments for R&D, with support of the 43 Embrapa research centers throughout in the country; sharing of facilities of the two institutions abroad; and cooperation and strategic intelligence to benefit the productive development of agribusiness. “This partnership will provide Embrapa with more expeditiousness, which in turn will count on Apex-Brazil's expertise in promoting trade and the image of Brazil abroad. The two institutions had already been working together, but the formalization through the act is very important. I expect major future results, and that is why I made sure to attend the ceremony”, commented minister Tereza Cristina. The Technical Cooperation Agreement for the Attraction of Investments, within the scope of the GCA, aims at exploring challenges for innovation, which comprise the main demands for technology and the most important opportunities for entrepreneurship in national agribusiness. The identification of such challenges by Embrapa's body of researchers will facilitate action led by Apex-Brazil with strategic investors in the main world markets, which will be directed to the most attractive projects in the sector. The TCA will also strengthen Apex-Brazil's position as one-stop-shop for foreign investors that may be interested in the country. The TCA's Work Plan will define the lines of action that will facilitate the attraction of foreign investments to foster and strengthen research, development and innovation in Brazilian agriculture. In turn, Apex-Brazil will aid promotion, networking and internationalization initiatives that compose Embrapa's main businesses, and support corporation's activities abroad with the structured network of Apex-Brazil offices overseas. Learn more The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), which was established in 1973 under the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA), works on the generation of knowledge and technologies for the production of foods, fibers and energy sources. Embrapa's mission is to create research, development and innovation solutions to ensure the sustainability of agriculture and for the benefit of Brazilian society. The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) promotes Brazilian products and services abroad and attracts foreign investment for strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. It also liaises with public and private agents to attract direct foreign investments for Brazil, with a focus on sectors that are strategic for the development of Brazilian companies' and the country's competitiveness. Apex-Brazil supports about 14,000 companies, which are responsible for 30.2% of Brazilian exports. The Agency conducts 53 exports promotion projects in partnership with representative entities in the private sector, out of which 16 are related to agribusiness. “In the past year, we have supported 1,161 companies in the sector, which exported US$ 22.7 billion”, Segovia commented. Link for photos on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/embrapa/albums/72157715185484167 Translation: Mariana Medeiros