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In Portugal, one of the major goals of the Brazilian mission commanded by Vice-President José Alencar is to maintain Portuguese interest in investing in Brazil. Portugal is the last stop on the Vice-President's trip, which included Russia and Romania.
According to the Director of Trade Promotion of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ambassador Mário Vilalva, Portuguese entrepreneurs had applied a total of US$ 7.5 billion in the country through the end of 2003.
Over half (55%) of Portuguese investments abroad had Brazil as their destination.
Tourism is the area in which the Portuguese have invested the most, especially along the coast of Northeast Brazil.
Food distribution and telecommunications are other sectors in which they are active.
In Lisbon, Vice-President Alencar participated in a workshop sponsored by the Portuguese Ministry of Tourism on attracting Portuguese investments for the Brazilian tourism sector.
Another niche the Brazilian government desires to exploit is the exportation of legal services in the area of international law.
Vilalva explained that many Brazilian legal firms have been providing services to Portuguese entrepreneurs who want to begin operating in Brazil.
At the Luso-Brazilian Conference of Law Firms, which Vice-President Alencar attended, entrepreneurs exchanged information on what is required to invest in Brazil, as well as learning about the functioning of the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
"The law firms are very important, because they are the ones who, in practice, make investments possible," the Ambassador pointed out.
The Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Márcio Favilla, also talked about the Brazilian government's intentions to stimulate more Portuguese to invest in Brazilian tourism.
The Portuguese, together with the Spanish and Italians, are the biggest investors in this sector. By itself, the Portuguese airline TAP offers 34 weekly flights to Brazilian capitals, especially in the Northeast.
The Executive Secretary informed that the Ministry earmarked 80 million euros to improve the country's tourism infrastructure and 8 million euros to train personnel.this year.
According to Favilla, the Ministry's budget should grow from its current level of 30 million euros to 50 million euros in 2005.
Agência Brasil
Translator: David Silberstein
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