São Paulo – The president and CEO of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Free Trade Zone, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), ambassador Osmar Chohfi, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the parties this Friday (17), at the ABCC’s headquarters in São Paulo.
The agreement provides for collaboration on the organization of joint business missions, seminars, roadshows, and other events to attract more business to the Free Trade Zone, institutional support between the entities in Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, and the use of each other’s dependencies.
The ABCC will indicate companies to do business in Dubai, and the DMCC will provide the names of Brazilian companies already established in the Free Trade Zone, including their areas of operation.
The DMCC was invited to participate in all events in the Brazil Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, as well as simultaneous events organized by the ABCC, such as the UAE –Brazil Amazon Economic Sustainability Forum, on October 3, with the presence of the vice president of Brazil, Hamilton Mourão, who will also open the Brazil Pavilion at the Expo.
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Also attending the ceremony for the signing of the agreement were the secretary-general of the ABCC, Tamer Mansour; the Institutional Relations manager of the organization, Fernanda Baltazar; the head of the ABCC’s office in Dubai, Rafael Solimeo; and the events & partnerships manager of the DMCC, Samer Merhi.
Mansour and Chohfi stated several Brazilian missions would visit Expo 2020 Dubai, including the vice president of Brazil; the minister of Science and Technology, astronaut Marcos Pontes; the governor of the state of São Paulo, João Doria; and president Jair Bolsonaro. “We will have several activities in the Brazil Pavilion at the Expo, and we expect an audience of about 100,000 Brazilians at the event over the six months, including visitors, business people, and diplomats,” said Mansour.
Chohfi told Sulayem and Merhi the ABCC would open an international office in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt, a few days before the opening of the Expo, with the presence of the Brazilian vice president. He also mentioned he and Mansour would go to Riyadh on their way back from Dubai, as the organization plans to open its third international office in the Saudi capital. Mansour also spoke on the possibility of implementing a Blockchain system between Brazil and the Free Trade Zone.
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The DMCC Free Trade Zone is a hub for global commodity trading and provides companies with the necessary physical, market, and financial infrastructure. It was founded in 2002 by the government of Dubai, and by 2003 it had 28 member companies. Today, it is one of the most important free trade zones globally, with over 18,000 member companies from 170 countries and more than 60,000 workers. There the Coffee Center and Tea Center are located, coffee and tea trading places.
Mission
Sulayem, Merhi, and Solimeo spent the week in Brazil and visited cocoa plantations and the Cocoa Innovation Center (CIC) in Ilhéus, in the state of Bahia; made a technical visit to an ornamental stones deposit in Governador Valadares, in Minas Gerais, where they also met with representatives from the ornamental stones and coffee sectors. They also met with local authorities in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo.
The DMCC wants to open a Cocoa Center in its Free Trade Zone soon. After he visited Bahia, Sulayem said he was impressed with the quality and sustainability of Brazilian cocoa. “We learned a lot about the cocoa business, and we want to prioritize Brazilian cocoa in our Cocoa Center because of the country’s history and everything I discovered in Bahia,” said Sulayem.
The DMCC CEO had visited Brazil on other occasions, but this was his first trip to Bahia. He stated that, in addition to cocoa, he is seeking to expand the trade of cotton, among other commodities. Mansour said the ABCC would help identify companies producing these and other products to contact the DMCC.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
