The Ambassador Of Brazil In Pakistan

Evolve: You have a very impressive profile when we look at your career journey. We are witnessing an interesting case study of a professional who is a Mechanical Engineer made a rigorous switch towards the professional evolution. Please our readers with your take over it?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: Although it may seem curious to many people that someone educated as an engineer, or a physician or a musician could have been interested in joining the Foreign Service, it is quite ordinary. In fact, among the Brazilian diplomats one can find professionals on the above areas and many more. Certainly, there are lawyers and economists as it used to be in the past but the diversity of professional areas reflects the development of the spectrum of the national interest. In fact, nowadays diplomats have to be prepared to deal with an enormous array of themes, from international collective security to visa issues and the promotion of trade.

Career diplomats are the sole members of the Brazilian Foreign Service – except for a few heads of mission (Ambassadors) designated by the President of the Republic. The admission is always at the initial step of the career ladder (as Third Secretaries). The new diplomats acquire the knowledge and develop the abilities to perform as Foreign Service professionals at the diplomatic academy, the Rio Branco Institute, which is the branch of the Ministry of External Relations, dedicated to educate the future diplomats.

Coming back to the original question, I would say that I always had an interest in international politics and international relations and never considered that having an education in a very technical domain could be an obstacle, on the contrary, it could be an asset to aggregate value to the foreign office.

Evolve: You have served in diverse habitat with multifaceted roles over the past years; please share your views about people and places in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan and your experience of working in an entirely different socio economic and cultural environment?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: In fact, it is roughly 40 years as a foreign service officer. It is a long career which has, as I said, only one entrance door, which is the diplomatic academy and each of us has to climb all the positions up to the post of Ambassador. I had the privilege of serving to many different countries; this contributes to develop the diplomat’s judgement and analytical and negotiating abilities that enable us to understand the peculiarities of each country, its institutions, its economy and, equally important, its people and its culture. I do not feel comfortable talking about any aspect of the countries I am accredited to but as far as could have studied and seen up to now all of them impressed me. Looking specifically the socio-economic and cultural environment, I am very respectful of any of the particular characteristics always keeping in mind that one shall not be limited to one’s own vision of the world. Of course, there are universal values that apply to the whole civilized world but the analytical exercise must consider the local aspects how perceived by local societies, not how the other believes they should be.

Evolve: You have been in charge towards discrete segments within multiple countries. What is your perspective over these divergent opportunities do you think Pakistan lacks in providing to its youth, which hinders their career to flourish?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: In my perspective, Pakistan has many important assets, among them a young population, contrary to mature countries which have a quite different populational pyramid; this fact can create a sort of virtuous cycle of knowledge and entrepreneurship, especially in the domain of information technology but not only. It seems to me of great importance to invest in science and technology, in knowledge.

I had the honor of working for a few years in our international cooperation for development agency and had the opportunity to see how many countries could benefit from the transfer of knowledge, not only science but also, and maybe especially, the exchange of management methods and techniques. I mention, among others, agriculture. Pakistan has an important potential for the development of modern agriculture that can feed the people, keep the population to the places where they belong to and generate foreign currency. It is not only the use of seeds – which in themselves carry nowadays an enormous amount of technology – but also the management of the soil, the preservation of the products and the distribution systems. We shall keep in mind that in any country, most of the agricultural production comes from small landowners.

I firmly believe that the opportunities for the youth come naturally from investments in such domains, investments made not only by governments but – perhaps mostly – by local businesses.

Evolve: You have been appointed as Assistant Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations in Geneva responsible for human rights, humanitarian, and environmental affairs. How far these rights contribute towards the individual and collective rights?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: To answer to this question, I would make some considerations about the international system which has as at its centre the United Nations. As we know the Organization was created at the final months of the World War II with the main objective of preventing the recurrence of the horror which was that war and led to it. Of course, it is far from being perfect, but I am convinced that it was the best possible answer for the drama. It did not come from nothing; it represented an evolution of the concepts behind the idea of the League of Nations; created in 1920 at the end of the Great War (1914-1918) it did not evolve according to the thoughts of its creators, but the main idea flourished. It is important to keep in mind that the Great War represented the actual end of the 19th Century.

Throughout the years the UN became a huge and complex organization dealing with most of the issues that affect our daily lives as agriculture, food security, food labelling, intellectual property, labour standards and relations, air transport and security, maritime transport, migrations, refugees, and environment, among other relevant themes. It became a locus for international specialists to meet discuss and propose standards and solutions to complex issues that eventually become international instruments adopted by countries, frequently in voluntary basis.

Themes like human rights, environment, and refugees are among the foundations of the whole UN system. It is not an overstatement to affirm that most of all the UN activities are based on such foundations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and its international covenants on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) are the backbone for more than twenty further treaties further elaborating human rights. These include conventions to prevent and prohibit specific abuses such as torture and genocide and to protect specific vulnerable populations such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951), women (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979), and children (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). Other conventions cover racial discrimination, prevention of genocide, political rights of women, prohibition of slavery and torture. Each of these treaties has established a committee of experts to monitor implementation of the treaty provisions by its State parties.

Talking about the environment, I would recall the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the 'Earth Summit', as the landmark. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3-14 June 1992. This global conference, held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first Human Environment Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, brought together political leaders, diplomats, scientists, representatives of the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 179 countries for a massive effort to focus on the impact of human socio-economic activities on the environment. A 'Global Forum' of NGOs was also held in Rio de Janeiro at the same time, bringing together an unprecedented number of NGO representatives, who presented their own vision of the world's future in relation to the environment and socio-economic development.

The Rio de Janeiro conference highlighted how different social, economic and environmental factors are interdependent and evolve together, and how success in one sector requires action in other sectors to be sustained over time. The primary objective of the Rio 'Earth Summit' was to produce a broad agenda and a new blueprint for international action on environmental and development issues that would help guide international cooperation and development policy in the twenty-first century.

The 'Earth Summit' concluded that the concept of sustainable development was an attainable goal for all the people of the world, regardless of whether they were at the local, national, regional or international level. It also recognized that integrating and balancing economic, social and environmental concerns in meeting our needs is vital for sustaining human life on the planet and that such an integrated approach is possible. The conference also recognized that integrating and balancing economic, social and environmental dimensions required new perceptions of the way we produce and consume, the way we live and work, and the way we make decisions. This concept was revolutionary for its time, and it sparked a lively debate within governments and between governments and their citizens on how to ensure sustainability for development.

One of the major results of the Conference was Agenda 21, a daring program of action calling for new strategies to invest in the future to achieve overall sustainable development in the 21st century. Its recommendations ranged from new methods of education, to new ways of preserving natural resources and new ways of participating in a sustainable economy.

The 'Earth Summit' had many great achievements: the Rio Declaration and its 27 universal principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity; and the Declaration on the principles of forest management. The 'Earth Summit' also led to the creation of the Commission on Sustainable Development, the holding of first world conference on the sustainable development of small island developing States in 1994, and negotiations for the establishment of the agreement on straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

Evolve: We came across about your contribution for higher studies program in Brazilian Diplomatic Academy with the writing; “International Refugees Protection: the use of resettlement in third countries as the least solution and burden sharing”. In your view, how far is it considerate in advancing towards the progression of such vital subject?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: The question of protecting refugees in modern times has been a source of concern since the years of the League of Nations. The Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) was the first High Commissioner for refugees and established the base concepts which are still valid nowadays. The problem was well defined by Louise W. Holborn (1898-1975) as a problem of our time. In the aftermath of World War II millions of persons were displaced in the European continent and needed state protection which led to the establishment of the 1951 Refugee Convention – and its 1967 Protocol. The convention defined the term “refugee” and outlined the rights of refugees, as well as legal obligations of the states to protect them. The core principle is the concept of non-refoulement which defines that refugees shall not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. The Convention led to the creation of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The conflict in Europe proved to be the beginning of a problem that not only exists today but has grown to many regions of the world. In fact, according to UNHCR, at the end of 2021, there were 89,3 million displaced people in the world, because of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or events seriously disturbing public order. Internally displaced people accounted for 53,2 million and refugees, stricto sensum, were 4,6 million. Unfortunately, such figures keep growing due to new and existing conflicts in various parts of the world. The burden of receiving and protect refugees is not, however, equally distributed. A small number of countries – mainly developing countries – receive large numbers of people, especially because of geographical vicinity because people movements are frequently made on foot. Then comes the question of burden sharing to find ways and means of either resettling people or assisting the countries of asylum.

Brazil is part of the Refugee Convention since 1952 (ratified in 1960) and has a legal framework considered very strong and innovative by UNHCR. In September 2021, due to the situation in Afghanistan the Brazilian government decided to grant humanitarian visas to persons who have serious motives to leave the country.

It is very difficult to affirm that the world is in on the way to completely solve the problem especially because conflicts still exist, but we need to be optimistic and keep working hard to, at least, alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable people who are victims of the conflicts.

Evolve: It is unspoken truth that Brazilian armed forces are larger than the rest of the continent. With respect to this fact, what is the regional importance of Brazil and how graciously it is upholding geo-political position among the rest?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: Not being an expert on defense issues, I would focus mainly on a diplomatic and historic perspective. With surface of 8,5 million square kilometers – about 47% of South American territory – Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. Its population is estimated in 215 million inhabitants (2022), the seventh largest country, after China, India, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Nigeria. It shares borders with all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador; as a curiosity, France’s largest land border is shared with Brazil due to the French Guyana. With all this in mind, it is not surprising that the country carries a geopolitical importance, not limited to the continent.

I take this opportunity to recall a few aspects of our history. The country was discovered in the year 1500 by Portuguese navigators during the era known as the Great Navigations. It took place between the 15th and 16th centuries and represented a period of expansion of commerce and mercantilism in Europe in which Portugal and Spain had an important role as the then superpowers. In the so called the Age of Discoveries the governments of both countries came into agreement on the division of the new world and signed on June 7th, 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas that divided the new world by drawing a north to south line of demarcation in the Atlantic Ocean about 555 kilometers west of Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of northwestern Africa and then controlled by Portugal. All lands east of that line (about 46 degrees, 37 minutes west) were claimed by Portugal. All lands west of that line were claimed by Spain.

Spain and Portugal adhered to the treaty without major conflict between the two, although the line of demarcation was moved an additional 1500 kilometers farther west in 1506, which enabled Portugal to claim the eastern coast of what is now Brazil. The results of this treaty are still evident throughout the Americas today. For example, all Latin American nations are predominantly Spanish-speaking countries with the sole exception of Brazil where Portuguese is the national language. This is because the eastern tip of Brazil falls east of the line of demarcation settled upon in the Treaty of Tordesillas, and was where the majority of Portuguese colonization occurred. The borders of modern Brazil have expanded since the 1506 expansion of the Treaty of Tordesillas.

During the Iberic union (1580-1640) Portugal was under the rule of the Spanish monarchs; although the overseas domains remained separated, nationals from both countries could enter in the other’s territories and obtain property titles which later favored the expansion of the Brazilian territory. Such expansion led to a dispute between both countries which was solved with the participation of Alexandre de Gusmão – one of the founding fathers of the Brazilian diplomacy – who explored the roman law concept utis possidetis which linked occupation and possession of the land. The question was finally decided with the signature of the Treaty of Madrid (1750) that represents the historical and juridical basis for the territorial configuration of the country given its precise definition of the natural borders of the future state of Brazil. The remaining border issues were settled by the end of the 19th century through the action of the José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco.

This short digression aims to make clear that Brazil has no territorial problems with its neighbors, on the contrary, our relations have been historically friendly – it’s been more than 150 years since Brazil last fought a war in South America. Our focus is on political and economic cooperation and on promoting regional integration

Evolve: As we all know that COVID-19 has made devastating changeovers among the economies and Brazilian economy exited recession at the end of 2021, on the whole raise by 4.6% in definitive year. What factors are responsible for economic growth and parameters set by Brazilian Government to take a leap?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: Part of it was the natural rebound after a year in which the COVID pandemic depressed economic activity and Brazilian GDP fell by 3,9%. With the progress in vaccination and the reduction of cases that allowed the economy to operate again in full force, especially in the services sector, Brazil more than compensated for the previous year’s loss. The Federal Government has also extended emergency financial relief to poorer families, helping to keep economic activity.

Evolve: Kindly enlighten our readers about the significant practices and future prospects that Brazilian Corporate sector is following to brighten business individuals and corporate sector to assimilate around the globe?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: We have very dynamic entrepreneurs, who learn and adapt quickly, and frequently ahead of companies with international operations and listed in the New York Stock Exchange. Their focus is in improving governance, seeking customer satisfaction and have growing concern on modern issues like ESG. I would emphasize that the regulatory structure in the country is quite well developed and is more and more understood as an asset to the good governance practices that most companies should follow to be competitive in the international market. Many of the professionals have international experience and are ready to lead companies in step ahead. Very important, we also have many high-quality business educational institutes in Brazil in a position of offering excellent professional development background for young and mid-career professionals.

Evolve: In your view, what areas of development can both countries explore to open new trade and business avenues considering your intervention in agriculture, environment and energy sector? What role these districts can play in the economic development equally?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: Total Trade Volume crossed the US$ 1 billion mark for the first time in 2020 and grew another 25 to reach US$ 1.3 billion in 2021. This year, it is still growing by about 10%.

Though the recent trend is positive, there is potential for higher figures and a more diversified trade relation. Among the most promising sectors for trade or business cooperation, I can mention:

From Pakistan

a)Textile & Apparel

b)Leather

c)Surgical Instruments

d)Sports Goods

e) Carpets

f)Basmati rice

g)Cutlery

From Brazil

a)Engineering Goods (incl. Auto Parts)

b)Pharmaceutical

c)Marble & Minerals

d)Processed Food & Beverages

e)Footwear

f)Gems & Jewelry

g)Chemicals

h)Meat & Poultry

i)Fruits & Vegetables

Evolve: Keeping in view the recent international scenarios created within economic arena what sectors stand to benefit the most from increased foreign investor participation. In addition, share Brazilian devises for the preceding 5 to 10 years.

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: Climate change will demand an adaptation from the whole productive sector, and companies that are ahead of this transformation will have an edge. Brazil has a clean energy matrix (83% from renewable sources), advanced biofuel technology and ambitious goals of reducing emissions by 50% until 2030. These could be areas of cooperation with Pakistan, including in the production of biofuels. Besides that, technology industries will always be relevant – and by that I do not only mean information and computer technology, but in all fields, including food production – in which our Embrapa stands out as a leading institution.

Evolve: What are the major developments that have taken place in Pak-Brazilian relations since you assume the role of preliminary steps in Brazil?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: As in all areas, the COVID pandemic also affected the work of the embassy. Even so, I am glad to notice we resumed political consultations, trade broke the barrier of US$ 1 billion and defense cooperation between the countries is flourishing.

Evolve: When it comes for people-to-people interaction towards the enhancement of relations, what strategic elements Brazilian govt. is mainly focusing on for strengthening bilateral relations?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: People-to-people contacts play a pivotal role in bilateral relations between countries, especially by increasing mutual knowledge and allowing for establishment of personal relations and identification of opportunities. The Embassy of Brazil is working in different areas to create more opportunities for people of both countries to interact.

Our Commercial Section is playing its part in connecting the business communities of two countries. The Commercial Section of the Embassy routinely provides information to Pakistani companies and businesspeople about important business developments, industry information, contacts of Brazilian companies, and information about fairs and exhibitions in Brazil.

Evolve: With the expert’s view, Pakistan is a brilliant spot for real business and investment. How do you perceive this view and why? And what Economic Indicators to be followed by Pakistan concerning progression?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: Pakistan has enormous potential. Its sizeable under-30 population can unleash a major demographic dividend. The country’s location at the crossroads of Asia makes it a logical fit to be a regional economic leader. Pakistan’s private sector is eager and well placed to flourish in the large domestic market.

With a young population, its strategic location, natural resources, agricultural potential and CPEC, Pakistan has enormous potential to become a rising economy of the world in next decade. It is important also to promote trade ties especially with non-traditional partners like Latin American and African countries.

As for indicators, it is necessary to observe the index for ease of doing business index of Pakistan. Energy crises have been one of the economic challenges of Pakistan. Perhaps the stakeholders could consider alternative sources of energy, like biofuels, in which Brazil could serve as a model. Just for your reference, Pakistan exports Ethanol, which could be used as fuel for vehicles. Brazil is utilizing Ethanol as alternative to gasoline and it is being used from motorbikes to airplanes. Using Ethanol in vehicle can greatly reduce Pakistan import bill.

Evolve: It is notable fact that the alliance between two countries would lead to major breakthrough projects. Can we expect investments from numerous spectrums towards Pakistan in future?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: I truly hope so, and we are working towards this end. A big investment is something lacking in our relations. Businesspeople form our two countries should explore more thoroughly the prospects of investments, joint ventures or partnerships in areas such as textiles and meat processing. The potential is surely there.

Evolve: What are your thoughts on print media around the globe and what would you like to say to the readers of Evolve Business Publication?

H.E. Olyntho Vieira: I am a regular reader of EVOLVE. I have observed that it caters trust amongst partnerships and keep its readers posted on the current affairs, economy and investment prospects. Through this platform, I would like to spread this message all over that I look forward to strengthen the international economic cooperation, and the economic ties between Brazil and Pakistan; hopefully it will deepen and diversify in the years ahead.