São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors was reelected for a two-year second term in an ordinary meeting of the Senior Management Council held this Monday (26) at the organization’s headquarters in São Paulo. The slate was received with acclamation by the Council members.
“In the name of the board of directors, I appreciate the acknowledgment of the work done and our reelection for another two-year term to head up the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce”, said to all present the president reelect of the organization, Marcelo Sallum.
After renewing the term of those elected, the Council’s president, Walid Yazigi, said to ANBA that the environment of the organization is harmonic and emphasized the work done by the current board of directors. “The performance of the board of directors is wonderful”, he said. “We care very much for the exports of Brazilian products to the Arab world, despite not overlooking the imports. And we have been successful in exports promotion, so much that the Arab countries are the fourth best market for Brazil and import a volume almost as equal as the one by Argentina, who is our neighbor”, he added.
Sallum stated that the board of directors will be attentive “to the changes in structure of the global market, where production, distribution and investments get conflated in the formation of global value chains, demanding more and more strategic negotiations and the integration with regional and economic blocs”.
He also said that the Chamber will face this year a busy work agenda of cultural and economic activities, “involving all 23 countries represented by us”, that is, Brazil and the 22 Arab nations. “We strengthen our commitment to consolidating the organization’s reputation as the main relations channel between the countries represented and our members,” he said.
The president pointed out that the organization will continue to search for new members and for the diversification of revenue sources, and broke the news that intends to lauch, in the first half still, a “new stage” in the process of certification of origin and legalisation of documents done by the organization, “totally electronic, at lower costs, and more safe and agile”.
“We all know that each year our challenges demand more sophisticated and innovative initiatives and, because of this, we will continue to invest in the development of our staff and seek for new talents”, said Sallum.
The other members of the board of directors are the vice-president Adel Aauda (Management), Rubens Hannun (Foreign Trade), Helmi Nasr (Foreign Relations) and Riad Younes (Marketing); the Director of Treasury, Nahid Chicani, and the CEO, Michel Alaby.
The Board of Auditors was also reelected, with three full members and three alternates. At the start of the meeting, the Management Council was elected, with 85 members.
Yearly results
During the meeting, Alaby presented a report of the main activities carried out by the Chamber in 2014, such as participation in business fairs in Brazil and Arab countries, trade missions, organization of matchmaking events, meetings set with high-level Arab and Brazilian government officials, among others.
The CEO pointed out that one of the main demands presented to the Brazilian government last year was the need for negotiations with the Arab nations aimed at Reciprocal Protection of Investments deals and to avoid double taxation. “The Chamber will not forget about this issue, it will always be in our agenda”, he emphasized. Another priority issue, according to Alaby, is the lifting of the Saudi embargo on imports of Brazilian beef.
In his address, Sallum said that despite these pending matters, Brazil’s trade with Arab countries is tantamount to 57% of transactions between Brazil and the other Mercosur member countries, which are “much nearer and with which we sustain several agreements and benefits.” To illustrate the work required, he mentioned that in 2014, the Chamber attended events in Sudan, Kuwait, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Oman, and that government officials and business executives came to Brazil from the UAE, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Qatar, and Algeria.
The Chamber’s president also stressed that the organization has close ties with the Arab embassies in Brazil. “None of this would be possible if we were unable to rely on the partnership of Arab diplomacy in Brazil, led by our friend and dean, the ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben,” he said. Alzeben is the Palestinian ambassador and dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brasília.
Also regarding last year’s results, the director of treasury provided detailed information about trade between Brazil and the Arab countries. “Exports to the Arab world account for nearly 6% of total exports from Brazil,” Chicani said. He also listed the investments made by the Chamber in commercial promotion actions, employee training, equipment purchases, the agreements entered into, and other revenue- or expense-generating activities.
Speaking on behalf of the Fiscal Board, advisor Julio Elito recommended that the accounts be approved, which they were.
Besides Sallum and Yazigi, the panel that presided over the session comprised the Management Council’s vice president, Helmi Nasr, and secretary, Fábio Kadi.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani & Gabriel Pomerancblum
