November 20, 2023

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SAI), Juliano Froehner , and the Deputy Secretary of Tourism ( Setur ), Catiane Seif , were in Russia with the aim of attracting investment to the State and promoting Santa Catarina tourism to participants of the V BRICS+ International Forum. On the occasion, they attracted the attention of investing companies and stood out in internationalization actions in two panels and in the closing plenary session of the event, which also included participation from representatives of important nations, such as the president of the Moscow City Duma, Alexey Shaposhnikov ; the vice-governor of Saint Petersburg, Oleg Ergashev ; the South African minister, Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma ; and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Science, Chen Zhigang .

“For Santa Catarina, the main point at the Forum was to present the State, as instructed by Governor Jorginho Mello, as a strong partner for Latin America for investments, commercial, logistical and cultural integration projects and very strongly in the tourism sector. Furthermore, we obtained excellent results, such as the willingness of four companies participating in BRICS+ who asked to open negotiations with SC for the possible installation of companies in the automotive, logistics, health and pharmaceutical segments”, highlighted Secretary Froehner .

Setur ‘s deputy secretary , Catiane Seif , Santa Catarina tourism was presented, with dedication, to more than 40 countries participating in the Forum. “In the Secretariat’s presentation, we shared the recently released promotional video on the State’s tourism potential. And we also worked to attract global events for MICE tourism (business tourism), for example, attracting the State to international routes.”

Santa Catarina-Russia commercial relationship

According to data from the Fiesc Observatory (2023), Santa Catarina exported US$29.57 million this year (until Oct/2023). The main products are from the food industry, chemicals, machinery, electrical equipment, such as meat (US$ 14.1 million), albuminoid substances (US$ 8.7 million), among others.

In terms of imports, there were US$ 209.8 million in the same period mentioned above, such as: fertilizers (US$ 119.7 million), cast iron, iron and steel (US$ 41.5 million), nickel (US$ 29, 6 million), mineral fuels (US$ 8 million), inorganic chemicals (US$ 4.18 million), organic chemicals (US$ 1.8 million), other common metals (US$ 1.6 million), rubber (US $912.9 thousand) and products from the milling sector (US$545.7 thousand).

Cultural connection

One of the reasons why Santa Catarina caught the attention of Russian participants during the event was the fact that the State is the only one outside Russia with a Bolshoi school. In Joinville, the institution is maintained by the Government of the State of Santa Catarina and has the support of the city hall and private sector sponsors. Its objective is to train dancers following the Vaganova ballet methodology , contemporary dance and complementary disciplines. The institution has a social commitment and grants 100% scholarships and benefits to all its students, who come from different states in the country and abroad. The selection process for new dancers takes place every year.

About the event

The 5th BRICS+ International Forum took place in the first two weeks of this month (9 and 10/11), at the Expoforum facilities Exhibition Center in Saint Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest convention centers in Europe. This event is held annually, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the collaboration of the Federal Agency Rossotrudnichestvo . This year’s Forum had as its central focus the socioeconomic development of regions and municipalities, as well as increasing the attractiveness for investments in cities. Furthermore, it aimed to strengthen relations between BRICS countries and other States. More than 7 thousand people participated, including more than 2 thousand foreign delegates from 200 cities, representing more than 40 countries around the world.