US Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman recently announced that he is retiring from public service after a 30-year career at the US State Department. He has been ambassador to Brazil since March 2020, but has a long history with the country, as he moved here with his family in 1974, when he was 11, and spent 12 years of his life in the Brazilian land .
As a diplomat, Chapman has served in eight countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, with six US presidents, three Republicans and three Democrats.
The ambassador continues to fulfill diplomatic commitments, before returning to his homeland to live in Denver, Colorado, close to his two children. On a visit to Paraná this week, he met with Governor Ratinho Jr. and talked about areas in which the US government and state government cooperate, such as trade, the environment and public safety.
During his visit to Curitiba, the ambassador spoke to him people’s gazette It is on RPC On the main points of relations between Brazil and the United States:
Vaccines
The US government in early June announced plans to donate at least 80 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally. This includes a specific plan for 25 million doses in the first phase, of which 6 million are destined for Latin America.
Brazil will benefit through the Covax Facility Consortium coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The White House explained that at least 75% of the total dose will be shared by Covax and the rest will be donated directly to countries in need. However, the US has not yet specified how the units will be distributed for each country.
“We are working with the Brazilian authorities to complete this donation,” Chapman said, without giving details about the dosage amount or the date it arrived in Brazil. “I hope that within a few days we can get a significant amount of vaccines here in the country.”
atmosphere
Environment and climate issues have also been the focus of cooperation between the two countries. “The issue of the environment is very important not only for Brazil and America, but for the world, at a time when we have to take concrete steps to reduce the impact of man on the environment”, explains the ambassador. The two countries hold frequent meetings, and the fight against illegal deforestation has received special attention at this time.
“Of course, it is a sovereign decision for each country as to how they will implement their policies. We would like to see these initiatives take a closer look at the illegalities that are probably happening in the Amazon.”
In the environmental sector, the US government has had programs in place for years to help with economic development in the Amazon region, and is considering increasing budgets in the region as initiatives to combat deforestation or resolve fire situations. can be done, for example.
The ambassador also said that he would like to see more private sector initiatives in this area. “It’s big business, and here it is the agribusiness, which is most affected by climate change,” he said.
Brazil flag on the moon
This week Brazil signed a cooperation agreement with the US space agency NASA for the Artemis mission. The program intends to resume manned flights to the Moon and to carry the first woman on a terrestrial satellite. The nation of Brazil is the first in Latin America to comply with the Artemis Agreements, which establish rules for moon exploration.
In addition to Brazil and the United States, ten countries are already on the list of participants in the mission: Australia, Canada, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. The first trip to the Moon of the Artemis program should be undertaken by a US crew, and the following may involve the participation of astronauts from other countries.
“I’m so excited to think of seeing the Brazilian flag alongside the American flag on the moon. It’s a relationship without limits; beyond the earth”, celebrates Chapman, who celebrates Tuesday (15) in Brasilia after the agreement. Attended the signing ceremony.
telecommunication security
Another area that has received US attention is the security of 5G telecommunications technology. Washington has led efforts to curb China’s ambitions to contract 5G network infrastructure with other countries because of concerns over the technology’s potential use as a base for espionage and cyber attacks by the Chinese government.
“It’s important to be able to trust the telecommuters you have, and it’s important to decide who you trust,” says Chapman. “At this time when intellectual property theft and cybercrime are customary in many countries, it is very important to be able to rely on telecommunications for the economic and national security on which their economies will be based.”
United States and Allies
On his first international visit as president, Joe Biden met with leaders of the G7 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and gained allied support in his campaign to lobby China for abusive trade practices and human rights violations .
Chapman described the G7 meeting as “a good start” and its results “promising”. “I think President Biden came up with his own point of view on the importance of working closely with allies, reaching agreements, and implementing those agreements together,” he said.
Construction of bridges between Brazil and USA
President Jair Bolsonaro’s government had close ties with the Trump government. But the change in administration at the White House does not mean a turning point in relations between Brazil and the US.
“Most relations between nations are institutional, not personal. But it is clear that personal relationships can also greatly help in reaching agreements and understanding”, emphasizes the ambassador.
Joe Biden visited Brazil twice as Vice President in 2011 and 2014, when Chapman welcomed him. “I think he’s the president who knows more about Brazil than anyone else in our history, because he’s visited the country twice and really invested in this relationship,” the diplomat says. “President Biden understands the importance of Brazil to Latin America and the world. Now is the time to build more bridges and more areas of convergence”, he highlighted.
