Curitiba – This Monday (4th), the Council of Arab Ambassadors to Brazil started a four-day visit to the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil. In the morning, the diplomats from Middle Eastern and North African countries participated in a workshop for businessmen at the headquarters of the Federation of Industries of the State (Fiep, in the Portuguese acronym), in the capital Curitiba. “These closer ties with Arab countries are important because they promote business diversification, and we are business-oriented,” said the Fiep vice president Rommel Barion.
He said closer commercial ties between Paraná and the region are being developed since 2006 through a partnership between the Fiep and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The Arab Brazilian Chamber is backing the ambassadors’ visit and its CEO Michel Alaby is travelling with the delegation. Alaby informed that exports from Paraná to the Middle East and North Africa amounted to US$ 503 million from January to April, and imports reached US$ 54.5 million.
The dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors and Jordanian ambassador to Brazil, Ramez Goussous, stressed that several Arab countries are going through reforms that will “turn the region into a great place to invest in.” “There cannot be economic development without political development,” he said. The so-called Arab Spring caused changes in the regimes of nations such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, and spurred political change in others, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Jordan.
Goussous emphasized that out of a trade flow of US$ 25 billion between Brazil and the region in 2011, Paraná accounted for US$ 1.8 billion. He added, however, that business needs to move beyond exports and imports and include a higher volume of investment.
“Many Arab countries offer one-stop-shop systems to eliminate any barrier to investment and provide legal safety to investors,” said the dean. “We have the opportunity to strengthen our relations in various segments,” he said.
Alaby gave some examples of Brazilian companies that invest in the Arab world and vice versa. One such company is Cofat, a Tunisian enterprise that plans on opening a plant in the metropolitan area of Curitiba in 2013 to manufacture wire harness for cars. The company had been considering and negotiating the plant for years, but now it is finally coming to fruition.
Similarly, the Iraqi ambassador to Brazil, Baker Fattah Hussen, invited “all of the companies from Paraná to participate in the reconstruction” of his country. He said the Iraqi economy grew by 6% last year and that there are many open projects, especially in construction and oil. The diplomat added that Iraq’s current oil output is 2.5 million barrels per day, but the country wants to reach 5 million by 2014.
Along similar lines, the Algerian ambassador Djamel Eddine Bennaoum informed that his country is implementing a major state-funded development project and that there is keen interest in cooperating with other nations, especially in areas where there might be technology transfers. “Developing countries need to cooperate,” he said.
The Sudanese ambassador Abd Elghani Elkarim said he had already been to Paraná three times. “It is time for people from Paraná to visit us too,” he claimed. He explained that Brazilian agribusiness companies are active in his country, but that he is yet to see delegations from Paraná travel to Africa and the Arab world. “Last year, we imported US$ 100 million worth of agricultural equipment from the Piracicaba region (in the state of São Paulo),” he said. “The state of Paraná could be our partner in bean, soy and poultry production,” he added. He mentioned the example of the Mato Grosso do Sul state-based group Pinesso, which is involved in agriculture in Sudan.
Tourism
The Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben, in turn, declared that the economy of his country is developing in spite of the Israeli occupation, and suggested that local tourism operators should tap further into the potential of the so-called Holy Land, which also includes destinations in Jordan and Egypt. “Religious tourism is a key sector in Palestine,” he said. “Through economic development, that ‘world-class headache of the world’ (the situation in the region) will gradually sort itself out,” he said.
The workshop was attended by the state secretary for Tourism, Faisal Saleh, who has Lebanese grandparents. He suggested a schedule of actions to foster bilateral relations, such as trade show for the Arab countries in Foz do Iguaçu, the state’s flagship tourism destination, and home to a significant share of the local Arab community.
Goussous insisted on tourism promotion. “Brazilian tourists do no travel to the Arab world; they did not travel before the Arab Spring, and they do not travel now that it has passed.” Likewise, the Kuwaiti ambassador Yousef Abdulsamad said many Kuwaiti tourists will visit the far-away Australia, but few will visit Brazil. “I would like them to come to Brazil more often, I would like them to come to this beautiful state, but there needs to be some sort of advertising,” he said.
The Qatari ambassador Jamal Al-Bader added that with its direct Doha-São Paulo flight, Qatar Airways is ready to explore new Brazilian tourist destinations.
Exchange
In the afternoon, the diplomats visited the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) where they were welcomed by the rector Zaki Akel Sobrinho, who is of Syrian and Lebanese descent, and by the vice-rector Rogério Mulinari.
The conversation revolved mainly around international student and professor exchange. “There is a demand for internationalization,” said Akel, adding that the institution has agreements with European, North American, South American, and African universities. “It makes sense to establish strategic partnerships with Arab countries as well,” he said.
Most of the diplomats took interest in the matter, and the talks are likely to move forward. “We could start out with professors and researchers for short periods of time,” said the rector.
The diplomats also met with representatives of the Curitiba-based charity Sociedade Árabe Beneficente de Curitiba, which has plans to build a hospital in the city.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
