At the head of Sedecti, Serafim Corrêa says he seeks to leave a legacy to society

Manaus (AM) – The head of the State Secretariat for Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation (Sedecti), Serafim Corrêa, stated that priorities at the head of the department are based on what was requested by Governor Wilson Lima, which is to unlock investments, attract new ventures and advance in the generation of employment and income. The statement was made this Sunday (10), during a TV interview.

“I told Governor Wilson Lima to count on me. Everything that was possible to do I would do, now, aware that I can’t do anything alone. I need to do it with the team at the secretariat and in other secretariats too, because all of this has to have great coordination, as well as a partnership with the federal and municipal government. And it is in this direction that we are working, so that at the end of the period that I am in charge of the secretariat, I can have a legacy to be presented to society”,

declares Corrêa.

The secretary says that he and the entire Sedecti team are working hard to generate results, such as, for example, in the first days at the helm of Sedecti, when they were approved, during the meeting of the Amazonas State Development Council (Codam) , 48 new projects, R$671 million in new investments and more than 2 thousand jobs created.

“This, in 12 days, would not be possible if the team that runs Sedecti, regardless of who the secretary is, was not working. And it is clear that the secretary is responsible for political articulation, in the broadest sense of the word. And I have tried to do the best I can so that we can move forward with new investments, to generate jobs, income and social satisfaction”,

he stated.

Multi-Year Plan

Serafim also explained that, currently, Sedecti’s efforts are focused on the planning area, towards the presentation of the 2024-2027 Multi-Year Plan (PPA).

“We have to have a strategic plan that would be for 10, 20, 30 years, which is something that is also discussed. So you see that this task is very big, that it will not be done alone, because no one does anything alone, you need partners, dialogue, coordination. I am not a candidate for anything, so I have complete freedom to move forward in these negotiations, doing my best”,

reveals.

Free Zone

The secretary defended the Manaus Free Zone (ZFM) model and committed to working together with Suframa in shared action with the federal government. And he added that he has already taken the first steps with Suframa’s superintendent, Bosco Saraiva.

“We cannot give up the Manaus Free Trade Zone. No other economic model would generate 120 thousand direct jobs and 400 thousand indirect jobs, nor the range of taxes that both the federal, state and municipal governments collect here in this region, exactly due to tax incentives. So, firstly, we need to maintain the Free Zone, stimulate it, make it increasingly competitive with the world”,

he emphasized.

The head of Sedecti also defended the Amazon Biotechnology Center (CBA) and spoke of expectations that the Government of Amazonas has to attract bioeconomy projects.

“We have a plan to attract more pharmaceutical industries here, we already have some, but far from what we intend to improve and expand the medicines manufactured by the Manaus Free Trade Zone. However, I have great confidence in the CBA’s action and I hope we can move forward.”

Export

Still in the interview, Secretary Serafim was asked about the event he participated in, in Brasília, in the launch of the National Export Culture Policy (PNCE), with the participation of Minister Geraldo Alckmin. He explained that the federal government’s effort is for exports to be decentralized and for other states to work, he also recalled that exports from here in Manaus target Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru, which are consumer markets that can be served by industries in the Manaus Free Trade Zone.

“Of course, this depends on coordination with companies. This is work that begins now and is of interest to both the federal government via Suframa and the State Government via Sedecti. We are committed to acting together with the federal government to achieve this objective”

highlighted.

Serafim recalled the difficulty in Brazil in exporting due to the fact that it is very bureaucratized. He cited as an example the license that the company previously had to obtain for each export, now valid for three years. He reveals that some measures by the Lula government and Minister Geraldo Alckmin were taken to reduce bureaucracy.

“There are many bottlenecks that need to be overcome and here in our region these bottlenecks are greater, for example, we have difficulties in logistics, difficulties with roads, ports, airports, and our partners are on our border, but they are distant borders, that in Colombia we arrived by water, but Venezuela and Guyana we arrived by road and then the road is not always in a position to transport quickly. So these are issues that need and will be progressively corrected”,

he emphasized.

Connectivity

Serafim considers that a concern for many governments and that has been Governor Wilson Lima’s is also the interior of Amazonas. He says that one of the concerns is energy stability and connectivity. He cited Brasília as an example, which has 2,000 5G antennas and Manaus has 400 antennas. And he revealed that he has made contacts with telephone service companies.

“This dialogue will happen, contacts are already being made so that we can get together and move forward. They complain about the cost of licensing. I don’t know how far this goes, but in the next few days we will have these dialogues and we will be able to go deeper and, I believe that it exists on the part of everyone, the productive sector, services, Suframa, Sedecti, city hall, everyone is included in the best purpose, in order to improve the business environment”, he highlights.

*With information from consultancy

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