São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the São Paulo Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Competitiveness (Investe SP) signed this Tuesday (2) a cooperation agreement to promote the products of companies from São Paulo state in the Middle East and North Africa and to attract companies from that region to the Brazilian state.
The agreement was signed by Marcelo Sallum, the Arab Chamber’s president, and Juan Quirós, Investe SP’s president. “We strongly believe in this union because these are organizations with the same mission. Everything points to a lasting and successful partnership,” said Sallum during the meeting at Investe SP’s headquarters.
“We wish to plan, together with the Arab Chamber, a mission of companies from São state. We will decide whether to hold the mission before this year is over,” said Quirós, while suggesting for the mission to take place in September or November. During the meeting, it was decided that the Arab Chamber will present its schedule of events to the São Paulo agency so an ideal date can be chosen.
“We will bring small and medium-sized businesses from São Paulo to those events, so this memorandum of understanding has a hands-on aspect to it from the start, which is the participation of São Paulo-based enterprises in a trade mission to Arab countries,” Quirós remarked.
According to the executive, São Paulo industry subsets to be promoted in Arab countries include processed foods, farming machinery and equipment, medical and hospital equipment, and pharmaceuticals.
Quirós also said Investe SP is working on establishing a center to distribute goods from São Paulo in Dubai. ANBA reported on the effort’s announcement in early July.
To Sallum, the agreement comes as the formalization of a partnership between the two organizations which, in reality, has been underway for some time, and quite successfully so.
“I believe that now we can unite and seek opportunities for São Paulo state businesses to export their products to the Arab world, and for Arab companies to learn a bit more about business opportunities here in São Paulo,” Sallum said. “The Investe São Paulo president’s suggestion of having a joint mission is extremely fortuitous, and now we will work to make it a reality,” said the Arab Chamber president.
Also attending the meeting were the Arab Chamber’s CEO Michel Alaby, International Relations vice president Osmar Chohfi, Foreign Trade vice president Rubens Hannun, and Government Relations manager Tamer Mansour, and Investe São Paulo’s Business Development and International Relations director Sérgio Costa.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani & Gabriel Pomerancblum
