São Paulo – The third edition of the United Nations SDG Business Forum, on sustainable development goals, is set to take place at the UN headquarters in New York on July 17. For the first time ever, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce will join the forum as a listener, at the invitation of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Global), a partner in organizing the event.
This edition will focus on the 17 United Nations Millennium Development Goals: Clean Water and Sanitation; Affordable and Clean Energy; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production; and Life on Land. The idea is for the Arab Brazilian Chamber to convey forms of engagement with the SDGs to its member companies, and to identify new opportunities in trade and investment.
According to Arab Chamber international business executive Fernanda Baltazar, “joining this event, whose theme is part of the global agenda and which will bring together major global public, private and third sector stakeholders, is a great opportunity for the Arab Chamber to further assert its role in encouraging innovative, sustainable trade between the nations it represents.”
Arab Chamber president Rubens Hannun said: “[Going to this event] means adding value to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce brand, the company and its services, thereby following through with the work it is already doing.”
The Arab Chamber has submitted a portfolio of SDG-related actions to the International Chamber of Commerce, and these actions have been chosen as success cases. They will be shown on big screens during the UN Forum. They are as follows: a Food Security Project; its partnership with the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Brazilian Presidency; its involvement and signing on to a memorandum of understanding at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco, 2016); and its participation in the World Water Forum in Brasília last April. The Chamber will also be at Wetex Dubai, a water, energy, technology and environment trade show slated for October, and at Expo Dubai 2020.
In addition to joining the SDG Forum, The Arab Chamber will propose a work meeting with support from ICC Global to discuss its Food Security project, a bid to foster debate and find potential partners, supporters and funders for the project.
The Arab countries Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Tunisia are also key players in setting and working towards the SDGs.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
