US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO725

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 000725 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
FOR AF/S-HTREGER 
AID FOR DMENDELSON 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, BR, MZ 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: ENHANCING COOPERATION WITH BRAZIL IN 
LUSOPHONE AFRICA 
 
REF: A. PRAIA 268 
 
B. STATE 102443 
 
1. Sensitive but unclassified. Not for internet distribution. 
 
Summary 
------- 
2. (SBU) Brazil has played a more active role in Mozambique 
since President Lula da Silva took office in January 2003. 
Brazilian assistance in Mozambique focuses on technical 
support and training, primarily in the health, education and 
agricultural sectors. The GOB does not provide direct 
financial or budget support to Mozambique. Potential areas 
for increased Brazil-U.S. cooperation in Mozambique include 
education, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, drug trafficking and good 
governance. End Summary. 
 
Brazil-Mozambique Cooperation On the Rise Under Lula 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
3. (U) Brazil's engagement in Mozambique has grown steadily 
under the Lula administration. New avenues for cooperation 
between the two countries have opened and with them the 
increased potential for enhancing Brazil-U.S. cooperation in 
Mozambique. In November 2003 President Lula made an official 
visit to Mozambique, at which time the two governments 
formalized various joint assistance projects. In August 2004 
the GOB pardoned 95 percent (approximately USD 315 million) 
of Mozambique's bilateral debt, further reinforcing its 
commitment to the country. 
 
4. (U) Brazil has various bilateral and multilateral 
cooperation programs with Mozambique. Through support from 
the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the GOB agency that 
supports international development, Mozambique has 
established a national literacy project and a modest 
educational grant program (USD 2,000 in scholarships granted 
to needy families in 2004). In October 2004 the two 
governments signed an agreement to implement two new social 
programs under the GOB's "Social Inclusion Through Sports" 
initiative. "Second Period" will provide secondary school 
students with access to after school activities focusing on 
sports and health. Under the "Painting Freedom" program, 
which aims to resocialize and professionalize prison inmates 
by teaching them to manufacture sporting goods, the GOB will 
donate more than USD 55,000 worth of soccer balls, uniforms, 
athletic shoes, manufacturing equipment and technical support 
to Mozambique. Though both programs will be launched in 
Maputo city, the GOB hopes to expand their reach beyond the 
capital in the future. 
 
5. (U) HIV/AIDS has been another focus area for Brazilian 
assistance in Mozambique. In November 2002 the joint UN 
project "Sharing Best Practices on HIV/AIDS Prevention and 
Care" was officially launched in Maputo. The three-year 
project, funded through the UN Ted Turner Fund, is 
coordinated by UNESCO Maputo and Brasilia and implemented in 
close collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA, building upon 
ongoing HIV/AIDS projects carried out by the various 
agencies. Brazilian cooperation has also funded 
anti-retroviral (ARV) training for more than 200 doctors and 
nurses at Maputo's Central Hospital. During a March 2005 
visit to Maputo, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorin 
reiterated Brazil's commitment to help Mozambique fight 
HIV/AIDS and pledged GOB support for the construction of a 
pharmaceutical plant in Mozambique. According to Brazilian 
press reports, the GOB has made USD 480,000 available for a 
feasibility study on the project. Negotiations are also 
underway on cooperation projects in the areas of malaria and 
malnutrition. 
 
6. (U) In 2002 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural 
Development (MADER) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research 
Corporation (EMBRAPA) signed an MOU resulting in USD 300,000 
in support for training and capacity building. (Note: 
Despite the corporation designation, EMBRAPA is state-owned 
and subordinate to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, 
Livestock and Supply. End note.) Progress on the project has 
been slow, and an EMBRAPA team is scheduled to travel to 
Mozambique later this year to reassess the project. EMBRAPA 
also reportedly plans to establish an office for technology 
transfer in Maputo later this year. The office will serve as 
a base for integration with other African countries with whom 
EMBRAPA has technical cooperation agreements, including 
Nigeria, Gabon, and Cabo Verde. EMBRAPA will back rural 
development in Mozambique's Zambezi river valley, where the 
consortium led by Brazil's mining, logistics and energy 
group, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), won the tender to 
develop the Moatize coal project. The rural development plan 
reportedly will involve the investment of USD 615,000 in the 
first two years, with another USD 2.7 million to be invested 
over the subsequent ten years. 
 
7. (U) Brazil is also providing technical training and 
assistance to Mozambique for public sector reform. The 
current project, established under a grant from the IMF, 
focuses on implementing a new integrated budget, treasury 
management, accounting and internal control system within the 
Ministry of Development and Planning. The judicial sector is 
another area to which Brazil has directed support. In 2003 
the Brazilian Supreme Court (STJ) donated computer equipment 
to courts in Cabo Verde, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau. The 
GOB also hopes to sign a judicial cooperation agreement with 
the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) by the 
end of 2006. The objective of such agreement is to give 
signatory countries greater cross-border support and 
coordination on attacking money laundering. 
 
Potential Areas for Enhancing Brazil-U.S. Cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
8. (SBU) Education: Approximately 700 young Africans, 
including Mozambicans, go to Brazil each year to attend 
university. Sadly, many are forced to return home before 
they complete their studies due to lack of financial support 
to cover basic living expenses. In April 2005 President Lula 
announced the creation of 100 scholarships for African 
students to Brazilian universities. The USG may want to take 
this opportunity to create a joint Brazil-U.S. scholarship 
fund that would support African students in Brazil. Brazil 
also currently offers a very modest education grant program 
for secondary school students (para 4). The USG may want to 
consider partnering with Brazil to expand the program in 
order to reach additional needy families. Post would welcome 
and encourage Embassy Brasilia to cooperate directly with the 
African Lusophone posts in matters of publications, speakers, 
and media. 
 
9. (SBU) HIV/AIDS: Brazil has a great deal of experience with 
the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Its national AIDS program, considered 
one of the most progressive in the world, includes 
prevention, care and treatment services. CDC Mozambique is 
already partnering with a Brazilian University Consortium to 
provide technical expertise for HIV/AIDS program development 
and training at the Ministry of Health, largely in the area 
of building laboratory capacity. These activities could be 
expanded in the future to include medical training programs. 
The USG may want to consider supporting a "twinning" 
arrangement (e.g. faculty from Brazil teaching courses in 
Mozambique and opportunities for students from Mozambique to 
study in Brazil) between Brazilian and Mozambican medical 
schools. Such activities would formalize ongoing technical 
support in the critical area of human resources and patient 
care. 
 
10. (SBU) The USG may also want to investigate ways to 
support the expansion of civic education programs, utilizing 
the vast Portuguese language materials Brazil has produced 
for its domestic HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns. (Comment: 
Direct support to Brazilian government organizations and NGOs 
in Mozambique may prove troublesome. In May the GOB refused 
USD 40 million in USAID funding for Brazil, stating that 
signing a declaration condemning prostitution and drug-taking 
would jeopardize Brazil's success in controlling the 
epidemic. Brazil's model for combating HIV/AIDS is based on 
accepting, open policies toward commercial sex workers, 
injection drug users, men who have sex with men and other 
"high-risk" groups. USG policy requires that organizations 
seeking funding to provide services in other countries make a 
pledge to oppose commercial sex work. End Comment.) 
 
11. (SBU) Agriculture: Guebuza's administration has made 
rural development a focus of its five-year program, and 
agriculture will play an important role in this initiative. 
Yet Mozambique still lacks the human capacity needed to grow 
the sector. The USG may want to consider working jointly 
with Brazil to improve quality and relevance of agricultural 
research in Mozambique. Special in-service training and 
workshops could be conducted with the Mozambican Institute 
for Agricultural Research (IIAM), which was established with 
support from the GOB. There is also a need to upgrade 
vocational and technical skills among small rural farmers, an 
initiative that could be accomplished through the use an 
outside expert like EMBRAPA. 
 
12. (SBU) Drug Trafficking: There is an ever-growing quantity 
of cocaine from Brazil arriving in Lusophone Africa, and 
Mozambique has become a significant transit point for illegal 
trafficking of narcotics. At present Mozambique has no 
capacity to patrol its long shoreline and has only limited 
coverage of its porous land borders. Post supports Embassy 
Praia's recommendations for increased regional cooperation on 
this front in the form of joint training (ref A). Mozambique 
has been granted USD 252,000 in FY04 INL funding to support 
border security. Efforts to engage Brazil in this area could 
run parallel to activities under this new INL-funded program. 
 
13. (SBU) Good Governance: USAID currently provides 
assistance to five of Mozambique's 33 municipalities under 
its Democracy and Governance Program. The USG may want to 
consider supporting a "sister city" program that links 
Mozambican, Brazilian, and U.S. cities in support of building 
improved models of democratic governance. (Note: 
USAID/Mozambique's Democracy and Governance funds are very 
limited, hence the capacity to work only in five 
municipalities, so any three-way program would have to be 
accompanied by additional funding. End note.) 
 
Comment 
------- 
14. (SBU) The GOB's strengthening of relationships in Africa 
should be viewed in the context of Brazil's desire to 
underscore its emergence as an actor on the world stage. Any 
USG efforts to engage jointly with Brazil in Mozambique will 
have to be approached with care, taking into account the 
sensitivities that affect U.S.-Brazil bilateral relations. 
Friction notwithstanding, real opportunities for enhancing 
cooperation with Brazil do exist and should be explored. 
La Lime