I was very pleased to accept an invitation from the Irish Business Network Brazil to become the Honorary President of the organisation.

I welcome this initiative which will be a new resource for those who see the opportunity to strengthen commercial ties between Ireland and Brazil.

The Embassy believes strongly in a Team Ireland approach in developing our relationship with Brazil and work closely with our Consulate General in São Paulo and our State Agencies (Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Education in Ireland) who have a presence here.

The Irish Business Network Brazil will complement those efforts establishing a network of professionals who support increased trade between the two countries and provide an important voice and forum for business.

Since arriving to Brazil, I have been struck by the extraordinary depth of the person-to-person relations that now exist between our two countries.

This has been driven by an extraordinary deepening of educational links over the past decade as Ireland has become one of the most popular destinations for Brazilians who wish to study abroad, be that to learn English or to study at one of our world class universities or institutes of technology.

As these connections continue to flourish, so too will opportunities to build stronger business links. I look forward to working closely with the Irish Business Network Brazil to achieve this goal.