Goiânia – Following a visit to a JBS’s 100-percent halal beef production plant in Goiânia, Brazil, Council of Arab Ambassadors dean and Palestine’s ambassador to Brazil Ibrahim Alzeben told ANBA there are opportunities for the company to further expand its presence in the Middle East and North Africa countries. “We hope that the rapprochement following this visit can open new horizons for a greater exchange with the Arab world, providing the opportunity to create more plants in Arab countries,” he said. The company currently has operations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. (Pictured, the delegation before visiting the company’s facilities.)
The diplomats were received by JBS Brasil New Markets executive manager Márcio Rodrigues, who said the firm is always looking out for market opportunities everywhere, pointing out the Arab countries are major for the company, which is the world’s largest beef and poultry producer. He also said it was “an honor” to receive the Arab diplomats and present the production processes to them.
Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) International Relations Vice President Mohamad Mourad was also at the visit. He said the plant is a “calling card” for importers due to the attention it pays to origin, production, procedures, and hygiene. “For the ambassadors present, it was important not just for presenting the attention with halal but also because they show [the company] interest in acquiring halal goods from Brazil. It’s a major opportunity for JBS to explore the foreign market and the Muslim community in the domestic market as well,” he said.
During the visit, the diplomats went through the beef stock and deboning departments and watched a lecture on the company and its brands.
The official visit to the state of Goiás features ABCC CEO & secretary-general Tamer Mansour and, in addition to Alzeben, the following diplomats: Qais Marouf Kheiro Shqair, ambassador of the Arab League to Brazil; Ahmad Mohammed A. M. Al Shebani, of Qatar; Osama Ibrahim Ayad Sawan, of Libya; Mai Taha Khalil, of Egypt; Abdoulaye Idrissa Wagne, of Mauritania; and Maen Masadeh, of Jordan; Algeria chargé d’affaires Emira Assia Dali; Algeria’s Emira Assia Dali; Sudan’s Mohammed Elrashed Sidahmed Mohammed; and Iraq’s consul Ali Majid Jasim Al-Obaidi. The official visit also includes Fares Mohamed Naklah, advisor at the Palestinian embassy in Brazil, and ABCC Institutional Relations advisor Bassel Abou Latif.
The journalist traveled by the invitation of JBS
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
