Chancellor Phyllis Wise is accompanying Governor Pat Quinn on a six-day trade mission to Brazil. The goals of the trade mission include increasing tourism in Illinois, strengthening Illinois’ exports to Brazil and encouraging Brazilian students to attend Illinois universities.
Robin Kaler, Urbana campus spokeswoman, said that Chancellor Wise is accompanying Quinn on this trip because the University has many alumni in Brazil and has relationships with organizations in the country.
Kaler says that because of the relationships the University has in Brazil, Wise will be able to help the state government meet and connect with people and organizations that might be able to partner with the state of Illinois to help with Illinois economic development.
A delegation of officials from Illinois businesses, educational institutions and state and local governments will also accompany Governor Quinn on the trip. They are scheduled to make stops in São Paulo, Brasília and Recife.
Illinois is also making an effort to attract more Brazilian students to attend Illinois universities through the program Brazil Scientific Mobility Program. Scientific Mobility Program, formerly known as Science Without Borders, provides scholarships for one year of study at universities in the US. Illinois companies have already donated to scholarship funds and provided internships to Brazilian students through the Science Without Borders Program.
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In São Paulo, Quinn will encourage Brazilians to visit Illinois by addressing the Brazil travel trade industry.
Recently, Choose Chicago, the city’s official sales and marketing organization, established a partnership with São Paulo-based Interamerican Network to provide support for travel trade sale and relations with Brazil.
The trip is also meant to help Quinn’s agenda of aggressive pursuit of international trade in order to create jobs in Illinois.
Quinn will be holding meetings with key private sector leaders, top government officials and potential trading partners in order to open up more markets to Illinois companies. Quinn arrived in Brazil on Sunday.
