São Paulo – This Wednesday (8th) and Thursday (9th), Arab ambassadors in Brazil will go on a diplomatic mission to Amazonas state to get to know trade and investments opportunities between the Brazilian state and Arab countries. The mission has the participation of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and will bring diplomats from 15 countries and the Arab League.
“The goal is to search for export and import opportunities. Amazonas is a very resourceful state, with some resources yet to be explored”, says the dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil and Palestine’s ambassador, Ibrahim Alzeben.
Amazonas state exported to the Arab countries the amount of US$ 3.2 million last year. This year, until March, the amount is at US$ 492,000. The main products shipped were motorcycles, but the list includes items such as radio and TV sets, rectifiers, shaving blades, stamping press and mobile telephony terminals.
On the other hand, the state imported from the Arab world the amount of US$ 17 million last year and US$ 7.8 million in this year’s Q1, according to data from the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC). The products acquired were polyethylene, polypropylene, tyre cord fabrics, copolymer, among others.
Among the Arab countries to which Amazonas state sells for are Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Morocco. According to Alzeben, the state also exports to other Arab nations, but in smaller volumes and the goal is to increase, besides the quantity, the number of destinations. The Arabs’ exports to Amazonas come mainly from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and UAE, according to data from the MDIC.
“The idea behind these missions is to show the potential of the Brazilian states for the ambassadors and giver an opportunity to states to tell some of its needs when it comes to trade and investments”, said Michel Alaby, the Arab Chamber’s CEO that will also be on the mission. The ambassadors already went to Amazonas state in 2011 but, since then, some new diplomats took office. “We will see that there are new possibilities”, says Alzeben.
In Amazonas state, ambassadors will have meetings with governor José Melo de Oliveira (Pros), with the mayor of Manaus Arthur Virgílio (PSDB), besides meetings with local businessmen at the Federation of Industries of the State of Amazonas (Fieam). A seminar about investments and business opportunities between Manaus and Arab countries will take place at the organization’s headquarters. The meetings with local political leaderships will all take place on Wednesday.
This Thursday, the diplomats will get to know the state’s touristic potential, with a visit to Janauarí Lake, among other tourist sights, and attendance to an Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Amazonas Theatre.
The Arab Chamber’s president, Marcelo Sallum, will also be on the mission, besides ambassadors Alzeben, from Palestine, Khalid Al Jaradi, from Oman, Mohammed Al-Hayki, from Qatar, Hossalmedin Zaki, from Egypt, Joseph Sayah, from Lebanon, Larbi Moukhariq, from Morocco, Sabri Bachtobji, from Tunisia, Malek Twal, from Jordan, Khaled Dahan, from Libya, Abdellahi Bah Nagi Kebd, from Mauritania, and Toufik Dahmani, from Algeria.
Also part of the group is the ambassador of the Arab League in Brasília, Bachar Yaghi, besides the business representative Mohamed Abdelrahman Yasin Mohamed, from Sudan, Ahmad Al Jarba, from Iraq, Bashar Al Duwaisan, from Kuwait, and the second secretary of the Saudi Arabia embassy, Mohammed Sulaymani.
The dean Alzeben points to the work of the Arab Chamber in the organization of the mission. “The Arab Chamber is doing an excellent infrastructure job”, said the ambassador. The ambassadors go on this kind of mission to different Brazilian states periodically. The last one was to Fortaleza, Ceará.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
