São Paulo – Representatives of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) had a series of appointments in Brasília earlier this week to strengthen partnerships and discuss joint actions with government and diplomatic bodies. The mission was led by the new president of the institution, Brazil’s retired diplomat Osmar Chohfi, who took office last April. He participated in the appointments together with ABCC Institutional Relations vice president Mohamad Orra Mourad and CEO & secretary-general Tamer Mansour.
“The goal was establishing and building on several aspects of the collaboration that the ABCC has with Brazil government agencies, Arab embassies in Brasília, and Distrito Federal government, and in this regard, talks were very fruitful and will allow us to develop a very relevant agenda of initiatives,” Chohfi told ANBA.
Expo 2020 Dubai was the topic of many meetings, as government bodies will participate in the world exhibition to take place in the United Arab Emirates starting October, and the ABCC will collaborate in the actions that will be held. The meetings also delved into increasing and facilitating cooperation, trade and investments between Brazil and the Arab countries, actions to increase and promote the halal production in Brazil, as well as potential agreements for developing partnerships between the ABCC and the negotiating parties.
The ABCC leaders were welcomed by Brazil’s secretary-general of Foreign Affairs, ambassador Fernando Simas Magalhães; the acting governor of the Distrito Federal, Paco Brito; the president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), August Pestana (on the right with Mansour, Mourad and Chohfi in the picture at the top of this story); the diplomatic advisor to Brazil’s vice president, Juliano Féres Nascimento; and the special advisor to the vice president, coronel Marcelo Antônio Neves.
Meetings were also held with the secretary of Trade and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture, Supply and Livestock (MAPA), ambassador Orlando Leite Ribeiro; executive secretary of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador Sarquis José Buainain Sarquis; and the executive secretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), Sergio Freitas de Almeida. Additionally, the schedule included a visit to the Confederation of Commercial and Business Association of Brazil, a reception in honor of Chohfi held by Kuwait’s ambassador Nasser Riden Thamer Almotairi, and a meeting with the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil
In the meetings, Chohfi was able to share some ongoing projects at the ABCC, such as the launch of an office in Brasília, the opening of new international offices in Riyadh and Cairo later this year, the creation of the Ellos Platform, which will use blockchain and streamline trade transactions between Brazil and the Arab countries, the preparations for a big halal forum to be held in September together with the Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil (Fambras), as well the preparations for the next Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries and the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the organization in 2022.
Several Brazilian officials and members of the government of Distrito Federal will have appointments in the Arab world in the following months. Potential actions regarding sustainability in the Arab countries were discussed with advisors to the vice president. The meeting with Ribeiro at MAPA addressed activities and the participation of Agriculture ministry Tereza Cristina in events in the region, and the participation of minister Marcos Pontes in the science week of the Expo Dubai 2020 was discussed at the MCTI.
Talks between the Council of Arab Ambassadors and the ABCC are constant, and the Chamber helped by holding missions of the diplomats to several Brazilian states, whose resumption was a topic of the meeting. “We discussed the collaboration of the ABCC in several initiatives of interest to the Arab countries that were brought to us by the Council of Arab Ambassadors in fields such as trade, social and cultural cooperation,” Chohfi says. The even held by the ambassador of Kuwait was also attended by the director of the Department of Middle East of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sidney Romero.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
