BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Brazil, launching a partnership under the Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI).  Through the agreement, USTDA will partner with the Government of Brazil’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Management to promote international best practices in public procurement and the long-term professionalization of Brazil’s procurement workforce.

To kick off the partnership, USTDA will host a three-day training workshop, providing over 80 Brazilian government officials with access to leading procurement experts, including one from the George Washington University’s Government Procurement Law Program, as well as energy, transportation, and IT procurement technical specialists.  The workshop will also feature sessions on public-private partnerships and in-depth life-cycle cost analysis training.

“We are so pleased to partner with Brazil through the Global Procurement Initiative,” said Thomas R. Hardy, USTDA’s Director, Congressional Relations and Public Affairs. “This partnership advances the Ministry of Planning’s extensive work in promoting transparency and good governance, with the overarching goal of obtaining the best value for Brazilian public funds, while at the same time expanding the field of solution providers.”

“Public procurement has received increasing attention, especially in light of the economic context in which Brazil is going through. Therefore, the quality of the public expenditure must be comprehended as a strategic approach focused on the relevance and the added value of the public procurement,” said the Secretary of Management of Brazil’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Management, Gleisson Rubin.

“Considering our shared goal, to procure goods and services efficiently and effectively, I am delighted with the launch of the GPI program and to support another key partnership between United States and Brazil,” said Chargé D’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy Brasilia, William Popp.

Through the GPI, USTDA will support Brazil’s goals of making efficient investments in sustainable infrastructure, while advancing the GPI’s mission of leveling the playing field for international competition.  The partnership will build upon USTDA’s existing collaboration with the Government of Brazil to identify high-quality solutions to advance their infrastructure development goals.

Following this week’s workshop, USTDA will host a group of senior Brazilian officials to the United States in early 2018 to share best practices and lessons learned from U.S. federal, state and municipal procurement systems. This visit will be followed by a second workshop in Brazil, for Brazilian state and municipal-level procurement officials.

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