Trustee at the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI). Roberto Abdenur was a member of the Brazilian Foreign Service from 1963 to 2007. He served at the Consulate General in London between 1970 and 1973, and at the Embassy in Washington, DC between 1973 and 1975.

He served as Coordinator of Economic and Trade Affairs in the Office of the Secretary General and later in the Office of the Minister of State from 1975 to 1984. During that period, he was a member of the Chancellor's and the President's delegations on visits to countries in Latin America, the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. He was Ambassador to Ecuador from 1985 to 1988, and to China from 1989 to 1993.

Back in Brasilia, he was Secretary General of Foreign Relations (Vice-Chancellor) from 1993 to 1994. He was Ambassador to Germany from 1995 to 2001. He served in the launching of Brazil's Strategic Partnerships with China and Germany. In 2002-2003, he was Ambassador to the Government of Austria and Representative to international organizations based in Vienna, such as the IAEA-International Atomic Energy Agency, the UNIDO-United Nations Organization for Industrialization, the Secretariat of the Nuclear Test Proscription Treaty and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. During this period, he was also a cumulative ambassador to Slovakia and Croatia.

In 2003, he was Chairman of the Group of 77 and China in Vienna. He was Ambassador to Washington, DC between 2004 and 2007, when he retired. He then founded a consulting firm on international affairs - DIPLOCONSULT - which provided services to Chambers of Commerce and business entities. Between 2011 and 2014, he was Executive President of ETCO - Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition, in São Paulo. Ambassador Abdenur has dedicated himself to the preparation of studies and press articles on Brazil's foreign policy and international issues in general.