Fiocruz's Mission to Spain and Portugal strengthens partnerships in strategic areas

The president of Fiocruz, Mario Moreira, visited Spain and Portugal between April 18th and 24th, seeking to deepen institutional relations in areas considered strategic with Fiocruz's traditional partners. The visits to the two countries took place shortly after Fiocruz's mission to the United States.

Visit of the Fiocruz delegation to the Nova Medical School campus, in Lisbon (photo: publicity)

"The meetings in Spain and Portugal were valuable opportunities to strengthen our institutional relations with traditional and strategic partners in health, in line with internationalization guidelines," said Mario Moreira. "In addition to strengthening existing cooperation, we are exploring promising possibilities and new models of collaboration that cover various areas of health science and technology, which will undoubtedly result in a better quality of life for our populations," he added.

In Spain, Moreira visited the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) in Madrid, together with the Fiocruz's mission made up of the Vice President of Education, Communication and Information, Cristiani Machado, the Vice President of Research and Biological Collections, Maria de Lourdes Oliveira, and the researcher from the Gonçalo Muniz Institute (IGM/Fiocruz Bahia), Manoel Barral Netto. The group was accompanied by the First Secretary of the Brazilian Embassy in Madrid, Joanna Fulford.

Present for ISCIII were the Director-General, Marina Pollán, the Deputy Director-General for International Research Programs and Institutional Relations, Daniel Ruiz Iruela, the Deputy Director-General for Applied Services, Training and Research, Miguel Calero, the coordinator of this Sub-Directorate, María José Buitrago, and the coordinator of the International Area, Elena Domenico Cruz. The meeting discussed possibilities for collaboration in the fields of research, administration and education in health, among others, within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two institutions in March this year, seeking to deepen cooperation, especially in the field of rare diseases, infectious diseases, epidemiological surveillance and digital health. After the meeting, the Fiocruz delegation visited the ISCIII facilities and laboratories.

In Portugal, Mario Moreira met with Galter Crisóstomo, director of organizational sustainability at the Centre for Engineering and Innovation (CEiiA), to discuss joint projects. Continuing this conversation, the president of Fiocruz visited the facilities of 4LifeLAB, a collaborative laboratory in knowledge and technology for health, and the São João Hospital, one of the largest hospital complexes in Portugal.

In Lisbon, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Nova Medical School to foster cooperation between the two institutions, with the main focus on research in various areas of medicine and public health. The memorandum formalized bilateral cooperation and defined the areas of common interest to be worked on shortly by working groups. The signing of the agreement was followed by a visit to the School's facilities and the construction of its new campus.

The visit to Portugal was also an opportunity to strengthen ties between Fiocruz and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). To this end, the president met with Minister-Counsellor Pablo Duarte Cardoso, from Brazil's representation to the organization, and with the CPLP's director of cooperation, Manuel Lapão. Among other topics, new possibilities for collaboration were discussed. Moreira also met with the director of the Ricardo Jorge Health Institute (Insa), Fernando Almeida.