After a seven-year absence from Atlanta, the Consulate General of Brazil in the Southeast will open soon at an office in Buckhead, officials said at a May 9 breakfast.   

Although the consulate has not finalized contracts for any particular building or office space, Consul General Adalnio Senna Ganem told GlobalAtlanta that the northwest Atlanta community caught consular officials’ attention because of its accessibility and centralized location between downtown and outlying communities. 

Because the consulate’s diverse array of duties will include facilitating business partnerships, granting travel documents, promoting Brazil in the region and advancing various social initiatives, Mr. Ganem said it would be best to find a versatile and convenient location.

“We thought this would be the best middle location for all the functions of the consulate,” Mr. Ganem said.  

If the consulate was a one-dimensional visa processing facility, he said they might have considered a location near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport or in Marietta, where a flourishing Brazilian community exists. 

The consul spoke at a breakfast event hosted by World Vision, a Christian aid organization that works to improve the lives of children and families in impoverished nations. 

World Vision volunteer Iva Norris organized the event and implored attendees to sponsor children for the price of one dollar per day.

For the price of eight Starbucks lattes a month, a child could receive nourishment and education, she said.

“We are so busy every day, taking care of our family, our things, and we forget the world,” she said.

Mr. Ganem agreed, saying Brazil’s rapid economic development has not increased everyone’s standard of living.   

“Brazil is a rich country, but we are yet developing,” Mr. Ganem told a crowd of business leaders, ministers and educators.

“Children, at least I think, are the most important segment of society we need to focus on,” he said, adding that the World Vision event is a forerunner to many humanitarian functions the consulate will promote when it opens to the public.

Although he couldn’t disclose an official date, Mr. Ganem said the consulate is “already open on the inside,” as he and staff members are working behind the scenes to ensure a smooth opening.

When the date has been determined, the Miami and Atlanta consulates will announce it together to minimize confusion for Brazilians in the Southeast who might be unclear about where to go for consular assistance.

The consulate will initially employ about 17 people, but that number should eventually climb to 30 once operations begin to pick up, Mr. Ganem said.

While introducing the consul, Wilma Kruger, chair of the Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro Sister Cities Committee, said that the consulate’s return to Atlanta will come at a “wonderful moment” for Brazil’s economy.

The country recently joined 13 other nations that have been given an “investment grade” credit rating by Standard & Poor’s, a firm that assigns national credit rankings and evaluates countries’ financial risk factors. 

Mr. Ganem said Brazil received about $35 billion last year in foreign direct investment.  He expects that number to increase dramatically, especially from Georgia.

“Trade between Brazil and Georgia is increasing around 30 percent per year, and imports and exports from Brazil through Savannah are increasing about 50 percent a year,” Mr. Ganem said.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is currently leading a delegation on a week-long trip to Brazil aimed at exploring business opportunities between Brazil and Georgia, particularly in the areas of ethanol and alternative energy.