São Paulo – Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation (Funag), connected to the Itamaraty, should promote, starting on the 29th, a course for Arab diplomats in São Paulo, Brasília and Rio de Janeiro. According to information disclosed by the organisation, the promotion of programmes for diplomats is a tradition that began in 2006. The objective of the course is to provide professionals a clearer idea of what Brazil is and, later, to facilitate relations with their countries of origin.

For decades, presidential elections in Latin America have often involved that well-known fixture in the cable news landscape of the United States: the American political consultant. But in a development reflecting the waning clout of one powerful nation in the hemisphere and the rising influence of another, Brazilian political consultants have begun to compete handily with their American counterparts, orchestrating campaigns throughout Latin America and beyond.

Marc Coleman is under the illusion that Brazil could become Ireland's 'El Dorado' (Sunday Independent, March 10, 2013). He states that '47 per cent of Brazil's 100 million population is middle class'. The census of 2010 gives Brazil's population as 190.8 million, not 100 million. It is absurd to think that this growing middle-class 'are crying out for what we (Ireland) want to export'.

Increasingly, Israel is not only cultivating their love of the Holy Land but also courting their political support, with some proponents calling such faith-based diplomacy the most powerful weapon in Israel’s diplomatic arsenal – though its precise capabilities and range remain to be fully proven.

“Enjoy the city of Jerusalem … and go back home as strong ambassadors of the state of Israel and the city of Jerusalem." While this largely evangelical movement is most well organized in the US, its most rapid growth is coming from developing countries like Brazil and Nigeria, which have not traditionally supported the Jewish state.

If the games are successful – which they probably will be, despite Brazil’s reputation for having a very relaxed attitude to planning – they will help seal the country’s image globally as one of the world’s emerging powers. Not a military power, but the first big “soft” power, a kind of Canada writ large but with Carnival thrown in. It is a Brazil, however, whose project is only half-finished and one in which self-congratulation would be premature.

Brazil enjoyed one of the biggest jumps in this year’s soft power survey, marking the end of an impressive year for the country. While Brazil is now well-established as one of the world’s leading economies, a main player on the global stage and one of the all-powerful BRIC nations, it’s impressive spike on the soft power survey indicated that it is also having a very real effect on the culture of the world.

Brazilian firms hope that their reputation will ensure that opportunities keep coming. They are keen to distinguish themselves from competitors, especially the Chinese. They do not want to be seen as grabbing everything they can, says Rodrigo da Costa Fonseca, Andrade Gutierrez’s president in Africa.