INCOBRA - Increasing International Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Brazil and the European Union

Until September, 23rd, representatives from the Brazilian government and the European Union (EU) meet in Brasília with members of research institutes and universities to discuss opportunities and challenges to develop Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). They participate in the ICT Week, event promoted under the EU-BR Sector Dialogue initiative.

During the opening ceremony for the event, on September 20th, the Secretary for IT policies from the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication (MCTIC), Maximiliano Martinhão, underlined that one of the main challenges of the digital world is cyber security. The Minister highlighted that from 2014 to 2015 there was a considerable increase of 38% in incidents involving sensible information from companies, while the investments in security solutions increased 24%.

The Brazilian Ministry of ST&I, Gilberto Kassab, highligthed the importante of Brazil and the European Union discuss together strategic thematic fields, confirming that the government will ensure that the issues discussed during the ICT Week will be implemented.

According with the Deputy Head of the European Delegation in Brazil, Claudia Gintersdorfer, bilateral cooperation with the Brazilian government is a model that is being copied. "In the area of ICT, Brazil and the European Union have launched three joint calls and we hope for important results from the supported projects. We are ready to work and further strengthen our collaboration with Brazil, aimed at strengthening global issues as important to the digital world. "

The EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues constitute a key instrument for cooperation and foreign policy in order to strengthen the principles of reciprocity and mutual interest. Strategic issues on the common agenda for discussion are discussed. One of the goals of bilateral cooperation is the exchange of knowledge and experience in strategic areas. Currently, there are about 30 ongoing Sector Dialogues between Brazil and the European Union.

Strategic pillars

During the ICT Week, Brazil and the European Union will address four themes considered as strategic in the ICT market. They are: cybersecurity, internet of things (IoT), service over the top (OTT) and internet 5g.

With the popularization and development of IoT, that connects devices on a global computer network such as cars, pacemakers and refrigerators, is one of the most promising global markets. The internet of things raised in 2015, $ 600 billion and it is growing 17% per year. The estimative is that in 2025 this figure will reach $ 10 trillion.

The IoT applications that will be discussed during the event are advanced manufacturing, crucial to the global competitiveness of the domestic industry; precision agriculture, crucial for agribusiness; and smart cities, which can improve the quality of life in urban areas.

It will also be discussed the Over The Top Market (OTT), applications and web-based services, such as Whatssap, Netflix and social networking. "Even more OTT services is becoming the primary mean of communication, access to information and purchases of society. It is crucial for economic development Brazil's insertion in this global market that generates 700 billion euros a year, "said the secretary of MCTIC.

One of the key factors to leverage Brazil to a prominent position in the OTT market is a regulatory framework that encourages competition and innovation dynamics in the digital environment that will have a panel exclusively devoted to this subject.

Another strategic area for the Sector EU-Brazil is the 5G internet. According to Maximiliano Martinhão, technology must become reality in 2020. "5g is a condition for the IoT reaches its full potential. Brazil and the EU have signed recently a joint statement that provides for strategic combination of 5g development”

For more information, please see  www.dialogossetoriais.org.