(From left) Mr Leônidas Cristino, Minister of Ports of Brazil, signs the agreement with Mr Seah Chin Siong, CEO of IDA International, in the presence of Ambassador Luís Fernando Serra, Ambassador of Brazil to Singapore, and Mr Ho Meng Kit, Chief Executive of the Singapore Business Federation.

Brazil and Singapore have strengthened their alliance with the signing of a Technical Assistance Agreement between IDA International and Secretaria de Portos (SEP), Brazil’s federal seaport authority.

SEP is responsible for policy formulation and implementation of measures, programmes and projects to support the development of seaport infrastructure in Brazil. Its interest in Singapore was sparked by the latter’s position as one of the world’s busiest ports and 2nd in World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2010.

The Technical Assistance Agreement came after preliminary discussions in 2010 involving three parties - SEP, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and IDA International. IDA International, which serves as the execution arm for all collaborations on public service infocomm between Singapore and governments around the world, subsequently came up with recommendations to develop an integrated system to support Brazil’s seaport industry.

The Agreement was signed by Mr Leônidas Cristino, Minister of Ports of Brazil and Mr Seah Chin Siong, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDA International. Also present were representatives from IE Singapore, IDA International, and Ambassador Luís Fernando Serra, Ambassador of Brazil to Singapore.

“This is a significant milestone for Brazil. We are pleased to be able to work with IDA International and to learn from Singapore so that we can further enhance our competitiveness through the use of ICT in our seaports,” said
Mr Cristino.

Mr Seah said IDA International was happy to share Singapore’s ICT knowledge and experience in the area of seaport management. “We see this as a significant step towards establishing a long-term and fruitful partnership with Brazil.”

Under the scope of the Agreement, both parties will collaborate in projects to boost Brazil’s seaport activities and enhance its global competitiveness. This includes the development of an ICT system to support Brazil’s existing cabotage activities. Cabotage refers to the transport of cargo between ports or cities in Brazilian territory, using the sea or inland waterway. As part of the agreement, IDA International will analyse the feasibility of the ICT system, and recommend policies and systems required to implement a paperless cabotage system in Brazil.

Work on the cabotage project is expected to start by the end of this year. “An efficient cabotage system can address time and costs issues related to logistics,” said Mr Teo Eng Cheong, CEO of IE Singapore, which is the government agency tasked with spearheading the overseas growth of Singapore-based companies and promoting international trade. “We are happy that Singapore companies have the necessary experience and expertise in this area to share with Brazil. We hope this will further enhance its port operations and lead to more partnerships.”