Abu Dhabi – To strengthen ties with the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), Osmar Chohfi, and the secretary-general of the organization, Tamer Mansour, visited the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) and the Khalifa Industrial Zone (KIZAD), a subsidiary of the industrial zone owned by Abu Dhabi Ports, the emirate’s port operator, this Sunday (7).
At KIZAD, they were welcomed by the head of the Industrial Cities and Free Zone cluster, Abdullah Al Hameli; the commercial director, Khalid Al Marzooqi; and the vice president of Strategic Markets and Product Development, Siddharth Bafna.
Chohfi invited representatives from the industrial zone to visit Brazil and participate in the Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum, to take place in July next year, when the organization will celebrate its 70th anniversary. “The forum will be a good opportunity to meet potential partners,” he said. He recalled Al Marzooqi visited Brazil before the pandemic and reiterated the ABCC headquarters is “the home” of KIZAD in São Paulo.
Ambassador Chohfi also spoke about the ABCC’s modernization and digitalization processes in the last year, creating Ellos, a Market Place platform and Blockchain system. “This is the ABCC 4.0 adapting to the new economy,” he said.
Mansour added that the ABCC Blockchain initiative is already working in Jordan, and it is essential to connect it to the Abu Dhabi industrial zone to reduce time and costs by implementing digital documents. “Soon, we want to connect our blockchain with KIZAD and the UAE, making this integration so companies can access KIZAD in our Market Place, and to facilitate the process for Brazilian companies intending to establish themselves here,” said Mansour. The plan, according to him, is to expand this system to all Arab countries.
Hameli informed KIZAD uses the Maqta Gateway platform, the “digital arm” of Abu Dhabi Ports, according to him. It is a global digital system used to facilitate trade in goods. The idea would be for the ABCC blockchain to be integrated into this already existing system. The executive stated he is interested in more Brazilian companies coming to the industrial zone and that they have multiple offers available to industries intending to open headquarters there.
Al Marzooqi informed there are twenty Brazilian companies in KIZAD. Among them is BRF, the animal protein giant, one of the biggest companies in the industrial zone. In addition to the food sector, which represents around 50% of KIZAD’s business, executives informed the zone is open to all areas, such as polymers, auto parts, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, technology, and others.
Chohfi also mentioned the creation of the ABCC Lab, a space dedicated to fostering startup initiatives between Brazilians and Arabs. Hameli said KIZAD has Block 7, a real estate technology investment and development company with innovation hubs worldwide.
Mansour said he wants to organize roadshows for KIZAD representatives to visit the southern states of Brazil, such as Paraná, which have medium and large companies with great potential to invest in the industrial zone. He gave the example of the ornamental stone sector. “They can bring stones here and industrialize here,” he said.
Abu Dhabi Chamber
At the ADCCI, Chohfi and Mansour were received by the president, Abdullah Al Mazrui (opening picture). He mentioned envisioning many opportunities for bilateral investments. Abdulla Mohamed Almazrui
Mansour and Chohfi invited Al Mazrui to participate in the Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum in July next year. The Arab has never been to Brazil. “We are more than happy to do everything to support trade and business between the two countries,” said Al Mazrui. They discussed the possibility of signing an MoU between the entities. “It is a very favorable environment for trade between our countries, and our chambers can become business hubs,” said Chohfi, also mentioning the creation of a Brazil – UAE Business Council.
The meeting was also attended by the head of the ABCC’s international office in Dubai, Rafael Solimeo; the Institutional Relations manager at the organization, Fernanda Baltazar; and the regional advisor for the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Iraq, and Yemen, Shaheen Ali Shaheen. The next emirate to be visited will be Ajman, this Tuesday (9).
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
