On 19 December 2007, the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) elected Brazil to coordinate its activities relating to Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau had previously indicated that it considered Brazil a satisfactory candidate for the role.

The PBC was established two years ago to help countries emerging from armed conflicts or acute political crises reach stability and lasting peace. Guinea-Bissau will be the third country to come under the Commission's purview, after Burundi and Sierra Leone.

While overseeing the PBC's activities in relation to Guinea-Bissau, Brazil will strive to ensure that the Commission is able to offer effective assistance to that country in its process of political reconciliation and economic consolidation, emphasizing measures geared toward development and keeping the peace.

Brazil will thus intensify its contribution to the development of Guinea-Bissau, a country to which it has historically been linked both politically and culturally. Brazil has also shown its support by means of bilateral cooperation (in the areas of health, professional training, agriculture, security sector reform, public management, and electoral assistance) as well as through actions carried out with the support of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries and the IBSA Fund (a mechanism created by India, Brazil, and South Africa to carry out South-South cooperation projects).

Source: Ministry of External Relations