JOSE Augusto Lindgren Alves, ambassador of Brazil to Bulgaria, is delighted to have been posted to the country.
He spoke of his views on relations between the two countries on the eve of Brazil’s national day on September 7.
His appointment as ambassador does not represent his first visit to Bulgaria.
He first visited as a commerce delegate to the Plovdiv Fair 32 years ago. Later on he visited the country as a holidaymaker and took up his post as ambassador earlier this year.
He feels very well treated by the people here and has found great similarities between the hospitality of Brazilians and Bulgarians. Although the languages are different, he said he feels more at home here rather than in some countries sharing the same language as Brazil. This has nothing to do with political regimes but with the people and who are like Brazilians.
“The lack of reciprocal knowledge between both countries is the major problem now,” Alves said. He said that Brazilians know very little about Bulgaria.
“As a result of the lack of familiarity, the levels of trade are low, totalling for the past year an exchange of $75 million in both ways,” he said.
Of this, Brazil exported more than $64 million and Bulgaria exported only $10.5 million.
“The trend is positive and trade is growing a lot with an almost 90 per cent increase compared to the previous year,” Alves said.
That is due to Brazil’s export of beef and chicken to Bulgaria.
“The reason is that we have no mad cow disease and Brazil has got cattle with no genetically transformed feeding,” he said. Other staples of exports to Bulgaria are very much the traditional coffee, instant coffee, and ore but these are essentially not industrial goods.
“The greatest difficulty for export of Bulgaria to Brazil is because of lack of knowledge,” Alves said.
Brazilians import chemical products, and tubes of plastics but this trend could be reinforced with some initiatives, which are now being contemplated by the Bulgarian ambassador to Brazil.
“I feel like a partner to your ambassador, who is taking initiatives to make Bulgaria known better in Brazil,” Alves said.
One initiative, which is planned, is a Bulgarian week in Sao Paolo and Rio De Janeiro. “We will be able to see Bulgarian films, food and folklore,” Alves said. In the sphere of investments a lot can be done as well, according to the ambassador. Brazil is starting to invest outside of the country and even in the area of tourism both countries can cooperate though being distant from each other. There are possibilities of increasing the tourism flow of both countries because they are not very expensive countries.
He said that there is a good infrastructure developed in the area of the Black Sea though the main attraction for the Brazilians will not be the sea but the mountains. “We have no snow and you have an abundance of it in Bulgaria,” he said.
Alves would like to see more mutual relations increase in terms of tourism, scientific missions and commerce. Brazil and Bulgaria still trade in primary commodities and primary goods as if it is 30 years ago, when Brazil was simply considered a coffee supplier.
Nowadays Brazil’s main item in the export list of the country is aircraft production. They are supplying countries in Eastern Europe with aircraft.
“This is a field to co-operate in the future with middle-sized planes suitable for regional companies,” Alves said.
Alves said that there is not a real Bulgarian diaspora in Brazil or a Brazilian community in Bulgaria.
Football coaches training with Bulgarian teams, as well as a technician helping in the Kozlodui Nuclear Plant, will be among guests at the national day celebration party on September 9.
“Most of the country’s concerns are turned to Western Europe and that is natural but besides EU there are other corners in the world which cannot be set aside. Brazil is one such place even because of its size,” Alves said.
“You are in a geographic and civilisational crossroad in the Balkans and it is understandable you are interested in the Middle East and the Arabic Countries,” he said.
He spoke of his views on relations between the two countries on the eve of Brazil’s national day on September 7.
His appointment as ambassador does not represent his first visit to Bulgaria.
He first visited as a commerce delegate to the Plovdiv Fair 32 years ago. Later on he visited the country as a holidaymaker and took up his post as ambassador earlier this year.
He feels very well treated by the people here and has found great similarities between the hospitality of Brazilians and Bulgarians. Although the languages are different, he said he feels more at home here rather than in some countries sharing the same language as Brazil. This has nothing to do with political regimes but with the people and who are like Brazilians.
“The lack of reciprocal knowledge between both countries is the major problem now,” Alves said. He said that Brazilians know very little about Bulgaria.
“As a result of the lack of familiarity, the levels of trade are low, totalling for the past year an exchange of $75 million in both ways,” he said.
Of this, Brazil exported more than $64 million and Bulgaria exported only $10.5 million.
“The trend is positive and trade is growing a lot with an almost 90 per cent increase compared to the previous year,” Alves said.
That is due to Brazil’s export of beef and chicken to Bulgaria.
“The reason is that we have no mad cow disease and Brazil has got cattle with no genetically transformed feeding,” he said. Other staples of exports to Bulgaria are very much the traditional coffee, instant coffee, and ore but these are essentially not industrial goods.
“The greatest difficulty for export of Bulgaria to Brazil is because of lack of knowledge,” Alves said.
Brazilians import chemical products, and tubes of plastics but this trend could be reinforced with some initiatives, which are now being contemplated by the Bulgarian ambassador to Brazil.
“I feel like a partner to your ambassador, who is taking initiatives to make Bulgaria known better in Brazil,” Alves said.
One initiative, which is planned, is a Bulgarian week in Sao Paolo and Rio De Janeiro. “We will be able to see Bulgarian films, food and folklore,” Alves said. In the sphere of investments a lot can be done as well, according to the ambassador. Brazil is starting to invest outside of the country and even in the area of tourism both countries can cooperate though being distant from each other. There are possibilities of increasing the tourism flow of both countries because they are not very expensive countries.
He said that there is a good infrastructure developed in the area of the Black Sea though the main attraction for the Brazilians will not be the sea but the mountains. “We have no snow and you have an abundance of it in Bulgaria,” he said.
Alves would like to see more mutual relations increase in terms of tourism, scientific missions and commerce. Brazil and Bulgaria still trade in primary commodities and primary goods as if it is 30 years ago, when Brazil was simply considered a coffee supplier.
Nowadays Brazil’s main item in the export list of the country is aircraft production. They are supplying countries in Eastern Europe with aircraft.
“This is a field to co-operate in the future with middle-sized planes suitable for regional companies,” Alves said.
Alves said that there is not a real Bulgarian diaspora in Brazil or a Brazilian community in Bulgaria.
Football coaches training with Bulgarian teams, as well as a technician helping in the Kozlodui Nuclear Plant, will be among guests at the national day celebration party on September 9.
“Most of the country’s concerns are turned to Western Europe and that is natural but besides EU there are other corners in the world which cannot be set aside. Brazil is one such place even because of its size,” Alves said.
“You are in a geographic and civilisational crossroad in the Balkans and it is understandable you are interested in the Middle East and the Arabic Countries,” he said.
