Italy-Brazil meeting focuses on public works opportunities

Credit lines, incentives and financial instruments for the realisation of public works in Brazil were the key-points on the agenda of the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Infrastructure, coordinated by the Italian Embassy in Brasilia and the local Ministry of Economic Planning. At the meeting, the Italian banks and infrastructure sector companies operating in Brazil, assisted by the Italian embassy and the Sao Paulo office of Italian business promotion company SACE, were able to receive technical information directly from representatives of Banco do Brasil, Caixa Economica Federal, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The subsequent discussion generated a number of projects. The working group was established under the Memorandum of Understanding on investments, signed by Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Brazilian Planning Minister Nelson Barbosa, during Mr Gentiloni’s visit to Brasilia on 5 November last. The mission of the body, coordinated by the Italian embassy in Brasilia and the Brazilian Ministry of Economic Planning, is to explore investment opportunities in the country for the benefit of Italian companies in the field of infrastructure and energy. The first three meetings focused on energy, airports, highways and ports.