Cairo – The Fujairah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) will hold, on December 7, the Arab-Brazilian Food Security Forum on the theme “Sustainable Agriculture and Green Logistics,” in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
A delegation from the Forum’s organizing committee, which included the ABCC’s regional advisor for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iraq, and Yemen, Shaheen Ali Shaheen; the chairman of the committee, Khaled Al-Jassim, and vice-chairman, Fayez Al-Eter, visited Cairo to invite Egyptian officials to participate in the event.
The president of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), Ahmed Al-Wakeel, was invited to join the initiative and help introduce the theme of Egyptian-Brazilian relations in agriculture and food security into the event.
The Forum will take place during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28), to be held in Dubai, UAE. The event will have as partners the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, the Arab League, the Union of Arab Chambers (UAC), the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil).
According to Shaheen, the Forum aims to strengthen cooperation between Arab nations and Brazil and join efforts towards more flexible and sustainable food chains, focusing on the role of Arab and Brazilian businesspeople as agents of change and innovation to lead countries towards a food-secure future.
He said Arab countries occupy the third spot among Brazi’s leading importers, and Brazilian food exports to Arab countries have achieved notable growth in recent years, with USD 8.92 billion in revenue in 2021, 62% of Brazil’s total exports to Arab countries, a 9.5% growth rate from 2020.
Al-Wakeel spoke of the importance of the initiative, especially given the changes the world is going through, which have proven the importance of countries securing their food needs. Brazil is one of the world’s largest food producers, and there are promising opportunities to increase commercial exchange between the country and Arab nations in the industry.
Michael Gamal, regional director of the ABCC’s office in Cairo, said the entity will work, in coordination with the Fujairah Chamber, to ensure the Forum is prosperous, especially as Egypt ranks third among Arab importers from Brazil, after the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and first among African countries.
Translated by Georgette Merkhan & Elúsio Brasileiro
