By Angela Martins*
When I first visited Abu Dhabi, one thing I found incredibly fascinating was how the Brazilian combat sport of jiu-jitsu had become so fondly adopted by Emiratis. In the UAE, the martial art is practiced across 15 centers and taught in over 100 schools – while Abu Dhabi is now considered a world jiu-jitsu capital. A big part of the national obsession with ju-jitsu is down to the efforts to promote the sport by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan who is himself an avid practitioner.
But the connection between Brazil and the Arab region is one that extends far beyond combat sports. It’s a deep and ever-growing relationship across economic, social, and cultural lines.
And recently we’ve witnessed cooperation between Brazil and Arab nations soar to newer, even greater heights because of the trade and investment potential on offer between the regions. This is especially true across several mutually beneficial priority sectors such as food, aviation, energy, defense, and ports.
In February 2022, Arab News reported that trade between Brazil and the Arab region was up 44% in 2021 compared to 2020. With this in mind, we believe that the special trade connection has an immense opportunity to take on a profound new meaning, and at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) – we’re here to help usher in a new era of economic cooperation.
FAB has had a representative office in Sao Paulo for nearly ten years. Throughout this time, it’s been obvious to us that the decision to establish a presence here in Brazil is what makes all the difference to our Arab and Brazilian clients.
This is because we can draw on local knowledge and expertise from both markets. We provide Arab business investors a window into the Brazilian economy and vice versa; we support Brazilian businesses by helping them define their approach to investing in the Arab region. Crucially, in a world where information is power, we can offer our clients assurance because of the depth of our knowledge. This gives investors a sense of comfort and enables them to make more effective decisions.
FAB plays the dual role of both a strategic advisor and financier. Throughout the last ten years, we’ve supported and partnered with large corporates, SMEs, and sovereign wealth funds – we’ve helped businesses from Ras Al Khaimah to Rio de Janeiro, from Sharjah to Sao Paulo – but most importantly, we’ve helped them to succeed.
Along the way, we’ve built partnerships with local and foreign banks resident in Brazil. We’ve also become a strategic partner of governments, and our activities have complemented the objectives of the trade promotion agencies in Brazil and the Arab nations, respectively. We see trade development as a collective enterprise involving multiple adjacent stakeholders as well as some of our peers.
As we look to a world full of new challenges and opportunities, Brazil and Arab countries share a similar vision for economic transformation – our countries seek to be at the forefront of the new technological changes that will bring far-reaching advances to their people.
Consequently, we believe that banks will play a more meaningful role by unlocking further trade potential and integration between the regions through their solutions such as advisory, trade and export financing, as well as products targeted towards working capital expenditure.
At First Abu Dhabi Bank, we will continue to provide a vital link for investors keen to capitalize on opportunities in the GCC and Egypt as well as here in Brazil. We have the capability to support corporate, institutional, and private clients across these geographies. We’re here to ensure that the future of Arab-Brazil cooperation will be ‘a partnership of possibilities.’
Angela Martins is Chief Representative, Brazil Representative Officer – First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
