São Paulo – The minister of Foreign Affairs of the Emirates, Abdallah bin Zayed Nahyan, spoke to the Brazilian foreign minister, Celso Amorim, and Edison Lobão, Mines and Energy, and showed interest in boosting investment of Brazil. The meeting between the ministers took place yesterday (19th) in Brazilian capital Brasília.
One of the sectors of interest mentioned by minister Nahyan was renewable energy. According to a Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty) spokesperson, apart from bringing investment in the sector to Brazil, the minister wants greater cooperation between both countries. Nahyan said to the ministers that the Emirates has a branch of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.
Masdar City, turned to the field of clean and renewable energy, should be the first "green" city in the Arab countries, that is, with zero emission of pollutants and environmental damage. Up to the end of the year, over 100 companies should obtain licenses to operate in the city.
In January, Abu Dhabi should host the World Future Energy Summit and Nahyan made use of the opportunity to invite minister Lobão to participate. The minister from the Emirates also said that the prime minister of the Arab country, Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, is interested in coming to Brazil in the first quarter of 2010.
Yesterday morning, minister Nahyan met with the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral. Today, he is in São Paulo, where he met with state governor José Serra. In the afternoon, Nahyan should participate in a presentation of the project of the new port terminal of the Embraport (the Brazilian Port Terminal Company), in Santos, which is being built in partnership with DP World, from the Emirates.
The minister’s trip to Brazil is part of a series of trips that he is promoting to Latin America, including Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay. Brazil is the last country to be visited.
Trade balance
Exports from Brazil to the Emirates totalled US$ 1.3 billion from January to September, which represented growth of 38% over the same period last year. The main products shipped were sugar, chicken, aircraft, gold and iron billets. On the other lane, Brazilian purchases of products from the Arab country generated US$ 82.8 million, against US$ 671.8 million in the same comparison.
*Translated by Mark Ament
