São Paulo – The Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil is sending a diplomatic mission to the Brazilian state of Ceará on the 10th and 11th this month. The ambassadors will be accompanied by a delegation from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing the trip, and the visit counts on support from the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations. The mission’s goal is to present business opportunities with Arab countries to authorities and businessmen from the Northeastern state.
On the 10th, the ambassadors’ schedule includes meetings with state governor Cid Gomes (affiliated with the political party PROS) and with Fortaleza’s mayor Roberto Cláudio Bezerra (affiliated with the political party PROS as well), and also a visit to the Development Agency of Ceará (ADECE, in the Portuguese acronym). On the 11th, the seminar Oportunidades de Negócios entre o Ceará e os Países Árabes (Business Opportunities between Ceará and Arab Countries) will be held at the Federation of Industries of the State of Ceará (Fiec)’s head office.
“We are betting that our meetings and contact with Ceará businessmen will yield good results to the economies of Arab countries and of Ceará,” said Ibrahim Alzeben, Palestinian ambassador in Brasília and dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil.
For the most part, the last few missions of Arab ambassadors to Brazil were to Southern states such as Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. According to Alzeben, Ceará was chosen as the destination for this mission so that diplomats may “see the state’s opportunities up close and have a more balanced and global view of Brazil.”
The meetings in the state will be a starting point for future negotiations. “In the future, an ambassador may return by himself and resume the meetings, talk with the companies to export and promote his country as a target for investment,” explained Michel Alaby, the Arab Chamber’s CEO.
These talks, however, should already be initiated during the mission, in a networking session for the ambassadors and businessmen from Ceará following the seminar at Fiec. “The mission will provide a better view of Arab countries, the possibilities, the trade and investment opportunities between the state and Arab countries,” Alaby pointed out.
“We are happy to visit Brazil’s Northeast and meet authorities who will help pave the way to strengthening our ties with Ceará”, Alzeben added.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
