Brazil needs to prioritize partnerships involving the government, business and research institutes, as well as focusing on education, to really achieve sustainable development. These were the words of the Secretary of Development and Technological Innovation at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Alvaro Prata, in the debate 'China and Brazil: The Big Challenges.' Part of the project 'The Sustainable Future,' the debate was held by the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (Coppe / UFRJ) on Tuesday (June 19).

"We need to expand the partnership model," he argued, pointing out examples: "We have had several achievements in the oil and gas area, with Petrobras, in aeronautics, with Embraer, and agribusiness, with Embrapa, in partnership with institutes and universities," he said.

Prata highlighted the need to expand the number of young people in higher education. "We need to deal with the issue of education, to increase access, because only 14% of the population in the 18 to 24-year-old age range get to higher education," said the secretary, for whom a country that aspires to becoming a technological powerhouse needs to train more engineers and scientists.

The Secretary emphasized Brazil's ability to support new investment, but demanded more involvement from businesspeople. "Brazil has always believed in young entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have an environment in which they can develop, we have business incubators and we're also working on cutting out the red tape involved in opening or closing a business, and we are researching new technologies," he said. "Nevertheless, we need to wake industry and national businesses up, so they pursue innovation. We do not have a record of companies that do so," he added.

Chinese participation

China's Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Wang Weizhang, stressed that his country is one of the largest investors in sustainable technologies, and he highlighted the country's progress in the area. "China supports sustainable development and has over 131 ongoing projects," explained Weizhang. "In recent years, we have invested 13 billion yuan in environmental research and sustainability," he said.

He also stressed the importance of partnership between the two countries. "We have several agreements in research projects and policies on technological development in agriculture in Brazil," he said. "I hope that the partnership between Brazil and China is very successful," he said.

Text: Gerhard Brêda - communications officer at the MCTI