São Paulo – The ambassadors of Palestine, Ibrahim Alzeben, and Lebanon, Joseph Sayah, respectively the dean and vice dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil, visited this Monday (10) the city of São Luís, state of Maranhão, aiming to organize an official mission by the council to the state in a near future. They were joined by the vice president of International Relations of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, ambassador Osmar Chohfi.
In Maranhão’s capital, the diplomats were welcomed by the vice governor, Carlos Brandão, and by state secretaries (picture above), who presented an overview of the state and discussed its outlooks and potential. The ambassadors revealed an interest in discussing the strengthening of cooperation between Maranhão and the Arab countries in a possible visit by the council, especially regarding trade, investments and culture.
“I offered the services of the Arab Chamber to develop the potential of this exchange between the state and the Arab countries, since we have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Itaqui [in Maranhão], a very important port,” said Chohfi. The Arab Chamber signed the cooperation agreement with Itaqui’s port authority at the Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum that it organized in São Paulo at the beginning of April.
With its railway and highway connections, the port is capable to serve nine states and, in this sense, logistics and infrastructure projects are of high priority for the economic development of Maranhão.
Last year, the state’s exports to the Arab world totaled USD 148 million, up 325% over 2016, while imports totaled USD 99 million, a decline of 44% in the same comparison, according to data provided by the Arab Chamber.
The Port of Itaqui is a gateway to fuels and fertilizers, products supplied by the Arab nations, and an exit point for agricultural and mineral commodities, items exported by Brazil.
Tourism
Alzeben and Sayah also met São Luís’s deputy mayor, Júlio Pinheiro, and city secretaries. They discussed, among other topics, the possibility of cooperation in the tourism and culture sectors. The capital of Maranhão is a historical city and an important Brazilian tourist point and, likewise, many of the Arab countries have strong tourism sectors.
The diplomats also visited the Federation of Industries of the State of Maranhão (FIEMA), where they watched a couple of presentations on some of the state’s development projects.
The council’s mission hasn’t been officially scheduled yet, but November has been mentioned as a probable month.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
