MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK trade envoy in Brazil to promote business in oil, finance, infrastructure and mining sectors

“I am looking forward to coming here again to talk business in one of the world’s most important emerging economies”, the British MP said.

A United Kingdom member of parliament and Special Envoy for Trade and Investment, Mark Prisk is in Brazil for a round of business talks in the oil and gas, financial services, mining and infrastructure sectors. Mr. Prisk is visiting Brazil for the second time in six months and his agenda will take him to Rio do Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasilia.

 The former Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, Prisk visited Brazil last May for a productive series of meetings with representatives of the government and private sector in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. His swift return to the country is a sign that relations with Brazil are prospering.

“I am looking forward to coming here again to talk business in one of the world’s most important emerging economies. Trade is one of the UK’s top priorities and it is therefore vital we work together to bolster our trade and investment relations, thereby creating jobs and economic growth”, the British MP said.

“We are the fourth largest foreign investor in the country. In the last two years, our firms have invested some US$ 615 million in new ventures here, primarily in technology, oil and gas and agriculture”, asserted Prisk.

Mark Prisk is scheduled to visit GE Wellstream’s plant, in Niterói, to see first-hand the results of the development of a new material which makes subsea pipelines 30% lighter. This breakthrough resulted from joint research carried out by technicians in Newcastle and Brazil. GE Wellstream is one of the UK’s most successful oil and gas supply companies operating in Brazil.

In Rio de Janeiro the UK envoy will meet Joaquim Mendanha, the recently appointed managing director of the Private Insurance Regulator (Susep), a federal authority operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, responsible for regulating and overseeing the insurance, private pension, capitalization and reinsurance sectors. At the meeting they will sign an agreement officially setting up the UK-Brazil insurance and reinsurance task force, with the aim of bolstering mutual cooperation and development of the sectors in both countries.

The “UK–Brazil Mining Forum: Challenges and Opportunities in the Industry” is taking place in Belo Horizonte, organized by the British consulate in the city, which has just commemorated its first anniversary. With the sponsorship of IBRAM, INDI and FIEMG, the event is taking place at BDMG’s auditorium, also a sponsor. The event will be attended by representatives of leading mining companies, like Vale, Anglo American and Vallourec, and the chain of UK suppliers in the sector, such as Mott MacDonald, Carl Zeiss, JLT Brasil, MMD Mineral Sizing and Hydratight. Current topics of relevance to the mining sector will be addressed, such as risk management, tailings dams, environmental recovery and remediation, innovation, research and development, the suppliers chain and sustainability. Mark Prisk will open the event and host the networking reception taking place after the forum.

In Brasília, Mark Prisk will meet the executive CFO of the Itaipu Dam and the Itaipu Technological Park (PTI), Margaret Groff, to officially set up the partnership with the UK’s Chevening scholarship program, disclosed at the start of October this year. The partnership will enable Brazilians working in the renewable energy, innovation, energy and sustainable mobility sectors to apply for scholarships. The agreement stems from the memorandum of understanding signed by the parties in November 2015 establishing cooperation for good sustainability practices and the development of climate-friendly technologies.

Mark Prisk is also scheduled to meet the National Environmental Sanitation Secretary, Alceu Segamarchi Júnior and representatives of Brazil’s sanitation industry and UK firms engaged in sewage and water management. The aim is to bolster the UK’s interest in supporting the sector’s development and sharing with Brazil our expertise in consultancy and modeling of projects, engineering and new technologies.

Also in Brasilia, the British Embassy, the Brazilian Institute of Cachaça (IBRAC) and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) are offering a reception to be held at the residence of the British ambassador to Brazil, Alex Ellis, focusing on relations between UK and Brazilian beverages companies.