BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva has come and gone, and Brazilian Ambassador to Jamaica, Cezar De Souza Lima Amaral is happy that the very first Brazilian president to visit the island did so during his tour of duty.

“I’m very proud to bring “Lula” to Jamaica,” Amaral tells the Sunday Observer. He is quick to point out, however, that it wasn’t just he who was responsible for the president’s visit.

He notes the efforts to that end by former Prime Minister PJ Patterson in 2005, and his successor Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, in 2006.

“It is the dream of the diplomat to be involved in (high -level) policy making,” Amaral says, regarding how he feels about Lula’s visit.

At the same time, however, Amaral has some reservations regarding the implementation of the “ambitious” schedule of agreements reached by the heads.

Last week, the governments of Jamaica and Brazil agreed to encourage cooperation in the exploration of gas and oil in Jamaica’s offshore territory, cooperation in research on renewable energy sources and the training of Jamaican technicians in agricultural management and harvesting, among numerous other things.

“There is a very broad, large spectrum of issues and it will be very tough implementing them,” Amaral says.

He says oftentimes the officials charged with implementation do not share the vision of the Heads. Additionally, a lot of implementation can get stalled by bureaucracy.

“Sometimes people have reservations about the decisions, sometimes people are not in favour of the decisions, sometimes people are lazy,” Amaral says.

A Brazilian delegation visited Jamaica in April, for example, and a decision was taken for 30 Jamaican researchers to go to Brazil to study 10 tropical fruits. The first group of researchers is expected to leave the island October. Amaral believes this is much too long a gap between agreement and implementation.

He says, however, that relations between Jamaica and Brazil can only get better since, for example, Brazil now exports five times more to Jamaica than to Nicaragua.

“The relationship [between Jamaica and Brazil] is much better than it was in the past; there has been an interchange of high-level government officials,” Amaral says, adding that since PJ Patterson visited Brazil in 2005, nine Jamaican government ministers have since visited that country. Additionally, Amaral says an expressed interest in South-South cooperation and development by both countries has ensured a bond.

So far this year, Brazil has exported US$170 million worth of goods to Jamaica, compared to US$54 million last year.

In the meantime, Jamaica’s benefit from the trade between both countries is minimal, growing to US$4 million from US$2 million last year, according to Amaral.

The ambassador says he is looking into products that can be exported to Brazil, which he thinks have the potential to do well.

Two of these are liqueurs and cigars.

He has identified a local coffee liqueur, which he says was just as good as, but only cost “one quarter of the price of a French liqueur, and you have a good presentation”.

Amaral shares that Brazil’s minister of foreign affairs, Celso Amorim, who was part of the delegation last week, asked him to procure five packs of the best Jamaica coffee to take back home as gifts.

Amaral’s wife, Lidia, was charged with making the purchase. So which brand did she go for?

“I don’t know. I don’t remember the brand,” Lidia says.

“Really, I went by the price – it’s the minister of foreign affairs, the most expensive must be the best one,” she confesses.