Alexandre Rocha*
São Paulo – The secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amr Mussa, praised the work of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce yesterday (04), during a plenary session at the meeting of the Joint Arab-Foreign Chambers of Commerce, which is taking place in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. "He spoke proudly about the Chamber, and praised the work that is done in favour of the Brazilian and Arab business community," stated the secretary general of the organization, Michel Alaby, who participated in the event.
Mussa visited the offices of the Chamber in São Paulo during his first visit to Brazil in April last year. Later, in May, he was in city once again to participate in the Brazil-Arab Countries Business Meeting, promoted by the organization after the Summit of Arab – South American Countries.
"He said he greatly appreciated having had the opportunity of visiting the Chamber," stated Alaby. Mussa has just been re-elected secretary general of the League, during the Arab Summit that took place in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, last week.
Also yesterday, Alaby presented to an audience of around 100 people, at the Radisson Hotel, a series of proposals for the expansion of trade and the joint projects between the Arab and South American countries. Present were representatives of chambers of commerce based in various countries as well as Saudi organisations. The meeting is organized by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
According to the secretary general, among the proposals that attracted greater attention is the search for closer ties between the communication departments of chambers in both regions. As an example, he mentioned ANBA, which publishes news of interest to Brazil and to the Arab countries in English and Portuguese. "They received this proposal very well," he said. Our work for development of the Brazilian image in the Arab world and of the Arab world in Brazil has had very good repercussion," he added.
Another suggestion that was well received was the establishment of bilateral business councils. "Not only between the Arab nations and Brazil, but also with the countries of South America. This is a very strong option for expansion of business, attracting investment and promoting the transfer of technologies," stated Alaby. "And I made this very clear," he added.
One of the examples used was the Brazil-Tunisia Business Council, established by the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the Tunisian Union of the Industry, Trade and Craft (Utica). Through the work of the council, the Brazilian Association of Shoe and Leather Components Industries (Assintecal) and the National Federation of Leather and Shoes (FNCC) of the Arab country have just signed an agreement with the objective of promoting the supply of Brazilian inputs to the shoe industry of Tunisia and the exchange of knowledge between both parties.
"The Arabs are interested in absorbing technology from the countries of Latin America, like that of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, of the Mexican Cemex (Mexican Cements) and of Argentinean companies in the wheat sector. Secretary Amr Mussa stated that the moment is right for Arab nations to discuss the access to technology in various sectors," stated Alaby.
In the government area, the main proposals were the establishment of joint bilateral committees used to periodically evaluate relations between both countries, the signing of treaties to avoid dual taxation on investment, the simplification of the concession of visas to tourists and businessmen, the establishment of direct aerial and maritime routes. "The idea is to make the chambers speak to the governments to implement these proposals," stated Alaby.
In this respect, Amr Mussa and the secretary general of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries, Elias Ghantous, requested that the Brazilian organization send to Arab embassies in Brasília and to the Economic Council of the League of Arab States copies of the presentation made yesterday and that other chambers of commerce send the work to their respective governments.
At the meeting, the new president of the General Union, the Lebanese Adnam Kassar, and Ghantous announced an August meeting between the organization and the Arab Brazilian Chamber. Yesterday organizations from other countries showed to Alaby their interest in participating.
Alaby also presented the translation into Arabic of book "New World in the Tropics", by Gilberto Freyre, the Arabic-Portuguese dictionary and the Portuguese translation of the Koran, published by King Fahd Complex, in Saudi Arabia, all works translated by the vice president of foreign relations at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Helmi Nasr, and also a DVD with a documentary about the Arab influence in Brazil. The Saudi Council of Chambers asked for the donation of the material to its library, and that was done.
Attention to trade agreements
Apart from Mussa and Kassar, the meeting yesterday also included the minister of Industry and Trade of Saudi Arabia, Hashem Bin Abdallah Yamani, and the secretary general of the Council of Saudi Chambers, Fahd Al-Sultan, who showed interest in visiting Brazil.
Other important matters discussed yesterday were the entry of Saudi Arabia into the World Trade Organization (WTO); the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone, which entered into operation last year – should reach the year of 2010 as a customs union and should become a common market by 2030 -, and the expansion of trade among the Arab countries, which grew from 8% to 11% of their total trade with the world.
Various countries in the region are promoting reforms to reduce the size of their government structures, privatising companies and reducing bureaucracy. Various Arab nations have also already closed or are negotiating trade agreements with the European Union.
Alaby recommends that the Mercosur, the economic bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, open its eyes and complete its negotiations with Egypt, Morocco and the Gulf Cooperation Council (which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) not to lose space to the Europeans. "We do not forecast the future, we create the future. So lets work," he said during the plenary session.
*Translated by Mark Ament
