São Paulo – Following an event on Tuesday (6) when the idea of an investment fund to generate income for Lebanon was launched, ambassador Carla Jazzar, chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Lebanon in Brasília, visited the headquarter of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in São Paulo on Wednesday (7) with the commercial consul of Lebanon in São Paulo, Rudy El Azzi, to coordinate the next steps to help the Arab country get back on its feet and increase its sales to Brazil. The diplomats were welcomed by ABCC president Osmar Chohfi, secretary-general Tamer Mansour, Cultural director Silvia Antibas, and International Relations vice president Mohamad Mourad. Picture above, from left to right, Jazzar, Chohfi, and El Azzi.
Carla Jazzar said that Lebanon wants to increase sales of fruits and vegetables and needs more technology to expand its food trade capacity. Antibas mentioned that Lebanon already has a good image in Brazil when it comes to cuisine, and this could be worked on for it to get a foodhold in the market.
Mansour suggested bringing together Lebanese associations of wine and olive oil, the most well-known products among Brazilian consumers, and working together to implement a Lebanese trademark. “The most important product in Brazilian exports is beef, and the Brazilian beef brand was very worked on for the Brazilian beef to have the image it has now across the Arab countries and the world.”
Other ideas suggested included promoting a visit of Brazilian health authorities to Lebanese olive oil farms and wineries, hosting road shows and dinners with Lebanese chef and products in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília in the near future.
It was also agreed to create a joint agenda in order to host a webinar later this year to show Lebanese companies how to expand business.
The ABCC representative in the committee created to address the investment fund for Lebanon will be Mohamad Mourad. The first meeting is expected to take place later this month. “The idea is establishing the committee and deciding how to proceed next. It’s supposed to be a joint effort,” Jazzar said. “We have to see what can be implemented, as some ideas are good in theory, but don’t work out in real life. What Lebanon needs the most now is money – it needs to sell goods, and we must see what we could buy,” Mourad said. He said that the main asset between Lebanon and Brazil is trade. “We’re 100% committed to helping Lebanon,” Chohfi said.
Here’s more on this: Brazilians could create fund to help Lebanon
Translated by Guilherme Miranda