Brazilian states and municipalities may present international technical cooperation projects to the benefit of developing countries.

On February 29th, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, the Federal Government will release the Program for Decentralized South-South Technical Cooperation. The objective is to encourage Brazilian states and municipalities to develop international technical cooperation projects to the benefit of their counterparts in developing countries.

 

The unprecedented initiative is the result of a partnership between the Secretariat of Institutional Relations (SRI) of the Office of the President of the Republic, through its Deputy Office for Federative Affairs (SAF), and the Ministry of External Relations, through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).

 

Once the Program is released, local and state governments, upon demand from the beneficiary countries, will be able to submit their proposals from June 29th to August 31st. Once these are approved, ABC will provide support to develop project documents and to implement their missions and activities.

 

A Technical Committee composed of representatives of the Federal Government and the governments of states and municipalities will assess the proposals based on objective technical criteria as established by the Program.

 

Projects are expected to be prepared taking into account successful experiences of sub-national governments in the fields of health, education, citizen security, local governance, sustainable territorial development, sustainable agriculture, food security, heritage restoration and conservation, leisure and sports, technological innovation and scientific development, the environment and climate change, vocational training, culture, and strengthening competencies to achieve the MDG.

 

The two-year Program entails a total estimated budget of 2 million US dollars. Each project will be entitled to up to 200 thousand US dollars for implementation in up to one year.

 

In order to provide states and municipalities across the country with technical guidance so they can submit projects, as well as to publicize the initiative, five regional seminars will be held in March and April. The seminars will provide an excellent opportunity not only for local governments to get involved, but also the local society, whose civil organizations, associations and private sector will also be invited to play an accessory role in the cooperation projects.

 

Brazil has been reshaping its international technical cooperation policy in the last few years, as it consolidates its position as an increasingly important provider of cooperation to Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. According to the study Brazilian Cooperation for International Development: 2005 – 2009, organized by ABC and IPEA with the support of the Chief of Staff Office, the Brazilian Federal Government invested almost BRL 3 billion to contribute to the development of other countries, in a variety of cooperation modalities.

 

Brazilian states and cities also have been increasing their international activities. The idea of supporting their international cooperation with federal funds gained momentum after the release of the Brazil – France – Haiti and African Countries trilateral protocol in 2011, which selected two projects involving the cities of Fortaleza and Guarulhos (Brazil), St. Denis and Lyon (France), Porto Novo (Benin), and Maputo and Matola (Mozambique).