São Paulo – The Arab ambassadors in Brazil visited the state of Santa Catarina on Thursday and Friday (27). The diplomats met with the governor of the state, Luiz Henrique da Silveira, with the mayor of state capital Florianópolis, Dário Berger, and with other authorities.
According to the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, who accompanied the group, the objective of the visit was to learn more about the potential of the state in the areas of trade, tourism and investment. “The mayor and the governor were pleased,” he said.
The ambassadors also met the chief justice of the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina, João Eduardo Souza Varella, the president of the Legislative Assembly, Jorginho Mello, and visited enterprise Termas do Tabuleiro, in Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, close to Florianópolis.
The residential project is the fruit of an association between businessmen from Brazil and Kuwait and was launched last year.
According to Alaby, during the meetings, the mayor and governor pointed out that Florianópolis, renowned for its beautiful beaches, is one of the main tourist destination in Brazil, second only to Rio de Janeiro, according to newspaper The New York Times and magazine Newsweek, both North American publications.
The governor and mayor said that the city is an important technological hub and includes 20 universities, being the main one, the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), which has one of the best mechanical engineering colleges in Brazil. The ambassadors also heard that preservation of the environment is currently one of the priorities of the state.
The group also included ambassadors Yousuf Al-Usaimi (United Arab Emirates), Waleed Al-Kandari (Kuwait), Mohamad Amin Ali Kurdi (Saudi Arabia), Mohamed Louafa (Morocco), Seifeddine Cherif (Tunisia), Ahmed Darwish (Egypt), Jamal Al-Bader (Qatar) and Bachar Yaghi (Arab League), as well as the business attachés of the embassies of Lebanon, Georges Siam, and Syria, Ghassan Obeid.
*Translated by Mark Ament
