São Paulo – The Jordanian ambassador in Brazil, Malek Eid Otalla Twal, left office this Friday (15) to return to his country of origin. The diplomat arrived in Brazil in the beginning of February 2014 and oversaw the embassy for five years. Previously he worked in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Russia.
Now the diplomat is preparing to take on new duties in his office. “I’m going back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I hope to be in charge of promoting bilateral relations between Jordan and Brazil,” he told ANBA by email.
While he was working in Brazil, the ambassador said he saw an increase in the bilateral relations. He mentions the high level of political debate during the period, the visit from the Brazilian minister of foreign affairs Aloysio Nunes to Jordan in March last year, the visit from the Brazilian Ministry of Defense in December 2017, the trips leaders of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to his country, the Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum, and visits from Jordanian parliamentarians to São Paulo.
The Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum was held in April last year in São Paulo, promoted by the Arab Brazilian Chamber, and brought 800 people together, including 100 representatives from Arab countries. The diplomat Twal participated in the event, along with businessmen and representatives from Jordan, including the Jordanian Chamber of Commerce president Nael Kabariti, who then was also the Union of Arab Chambers president.
In September last year, in Aman, the Arab Brazilian Chamber president Rubens Hannun and the Jordan Customs CEO Abdul Majid Al Rahamnah signed the first agreement to implement the online certification in exports from Brazil to Jordan. In 2018, Brazilian exports to the Arab country grew by 18% and reached USD 264 million. Main exports were beef, poultry, corn and coffee. The sales of Jordanian products to the Brazilian market also increased by 10%, reaching USD 8.2 million, mostly fertilizers.
Before returning to Jordan, the ambassador was honored in a farewell ceremony in Itamaraty and the Palestinian Embassy in Brasília, whose ambassador is Ibrahim Alzeben, who is also the dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil. The Arab Brazilian Chamber president and the secretary-general Tamer Mansour were present in the ceremony.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
