This week an official delegation of experts and engineers from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the Pernambuco Institute of Agronomics (IPA), linked to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) visited Islamabad between October 10 and 14, 2011. 

This first-ever visit of a technical cooperation mission from the Brazilian Government to Pakistan, comprised project analyst Bruno de Amorim Maciel, genetics expert Gabriel Alves Maciel, phytopathology expert Vanildo Bezerra Cavalcanti and rural extension expert Minucio Monteiro Filho held high-level meetings at the Prime Minister s Secretariat, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Industries and Production, the Economic Affairs Division, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the Embassy of Brazil in Islamabad. The experts also visited the laboratories and facilities of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC). 

Upon a request from the government of Pakistan, the Brazilian mission has agreed to offer technical cooperation to Pakistan through the sharing of Brazilian knowledge, technology and expertise. Two delegations of Pakistani agricultural specialists will be invited to visit Brazil in early 2012: one will focus on sugarcane, cotton and germplasm exchange, while the other mission will learn from the Brazilian experience in rural extension and in public policies for the benefit of small farmers. Each delegation will have approximately five members to be chosen by the Government of Pakistan. This was revealed at a press conference held at the embassy Friday. 

These initiatives will be confirmed by bilateral documents to be signed during the upcoming visit of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to Brazil, in late November 2011. During this occasion, an umbrella agreement on technical cooperation will also be signed, allowing for future endeavours of Brazilian-Pakistani partnership. 

Brazil is acknowledged as a global leader in agriculture and livestock, particularly in products such as sugarcane, ethanol, soybeans, coffee, beef and dairy cattle, poultry, oranges and other fruits. The country also boasts some of the most advanced food security public policies in the world, due in a large part to its successful rural extension programmes. 

The Brazilian Cooperation Agency is currently implementing nearly 800 projects in over 70 developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, in fields as varied as professional training, agriculture and public health.