WConn To Host Conference On ‘Doing Business With Brazil’

DANBURY — Western Connecticut State University will host a January 14 event to explore trade relations between the United States and Brazil, one of South America’s economic powerhouses and a central figure in ongoing negotiations to create the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTTA).

J. Jaime Melo, a Brazilian who is a consultant in international business relations, will discuss “Doing Business with Brazil” at 4 pm on Friday, January 14, in the Student Center Theater on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White Street.

The lecture will be presented in English. Sponsored by the university’s Ruth Haas Library, the event will be free and open to the public. Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the question-and-answer session that follows.

Mr Melo, who also has worked in the United States and Italy, is set to discuss the Brazilian business climate, governmental support for international trade, and economic trends and foreign investments.

Ralph Holibaugh, director of library services at WestConn, said a number of factors make US-Brazilian trade relations an important topic, especially to those in the university’s region.

“I believe the university should be doing all it can to reach out to international communities, both those connected to greater Danbury and in general,” Mr Holibaugh said. “This is particularly important as we continue to realize the effects of the global economic market, with its accompanying redistribution of wealth and redistribution of populations.”

Greater Danbury is home to one of the largest communities of Brazilians living outside their country. Brazil is among the world’s leading recipients of foreign direct investments (FDI). In 1999, for example, Brazil received about $30 billion in FDI, according to the Embassy of Brazil in London website. Brazil also is a major player in negotiations to create the FTTA, in which barriers to trade and investment will be progressively eliminated to unite the economies of the Americas. Years of negotiations to create the agreement have been slated for completion this January.

Mr Melo is director of ASSEP (Assessoria a Entidades Publicas e Particulares Ltda), a Brazilian-based international consulting firm. The company is headquartered in Brasilia, Brazil’s capital city, and its clients include European Investment Services Corp, Euro Impianti Specialistice Corp, and Financial Industrial Automation Systems. Mr Melo’s experience includes representing medical laboratories in dealing with regulatory affairs and working with the Ministry of Health in Brazil.

He also served as an international trade assistant for Mercador, a company involved in international commerce. He holds a bachelor of arts in international relations from Brasilia University and has pursued postgraduate courses in international trade at Universidade Ibero Americana.

“We plan to give the audience current information, based on my experiences, about the political and economic situation in Brazil,” Mr Melo said.

He will share information about ongoing projects that offer opportunities to do business with Brazil. He also will provide contact names and phone numbers for individuals and companies that can offer additional information and assistance.

Mr Holibaugh pointed out that the presentation is in keeping with the library’s efforts to serve as a resource for the university and the larger community beyond.

“This is the library’s first attempt at what could become a more business-oriented lecture series,” he said.

For more information, call the Haas Library at 837-9107 or the Office of Public Relations at 837-8486.