Florianópolis – Increasing bilateral trade between the Arab countries and the state of Santa Catarina and making mutual trade more balanced were among the requests made by the Council of Arab Ambassadors to the Santa Catarina governor Raimundo Colombo (PSD party), this Monday (28th), in the capital Florianópolis. On Tuesday (29th), the diplomats will wrap up their visit to the state, which was organized by the Council of Arab Ambassadors in partnership with the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
During the meeting with Colombo, at the governor’s official residency, the Moroccan ambassador Larbi Moukhariq stated that his country and Santa Catarina sustain vast commercial ties, but remarked that the North African country buys more than it sells to the state. “The trade balance is tipped to Moroccan side. The best-case scenario would be to balance out mutual trade,” he said.
Djamel Bennaoum, the Algerian ambassador, said the Arab countries offer products that may be of interest to the state, including olives and olive oil. “Santa Catarina has a lot to offer to the Arabs, who are already familiar with the state’s poultry and agribusiness products. However, Algeria can also provide various products,” the Algerian diplomat claimed. As per information from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, in 2013 Santa Catarina exported US$ 607 million worth of products to the Arab countries, which in turn sold US$ 148 million to the state.
At the meeting with Colombo, the Chamber’s CEO Michel Alaby called on the governor to intervene in favour of Arab States with the National Congress, so that free trade projects involving Palestine and Egypt get voted.
Colombo asserted that Santa Catarina is investing in infrastructure and creating jobs, in addition to being a major meat producer, and that the state needs international partners. He also offered to help with the proceedings for free-trade agreements at Congress.
Other meetings
This Monday, the ambassadors have also been welcomed at a business luncheon by executives from the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc) and by the mayor of the state capital Florianópolis, Cesar Souza Junior. The Fiesc chairman Glauco José Côrte said the state is a leading meat producer, but said local businessman could develop ties with Arab countries in other sectors which are yet to grow.
“We could expand our metal mechanics and civil construction industries. It is a slow process, our countries are far apart, but we will keep encouraging that,” he said. Fiesc and the Arab Chamber have already promoted eight technical and trade missions to Dubai involving Fiesc businessmen during the Big 5 construction industry fair, between 2005 and 2012.
During the meeting with the mayor of Florianópolis, the Egyptian ambassador Hossameldin Ibrahim Zaki said he would like to see the recyclable waste collection system employed in Florianópolis, the first Brazilian capital, according to the mayor, to implement such a system across its entire territory. Júnior made a point of providing the diplomat with information.
Júnior said Santa Catarina received more than 2 million tourists over summer and said part of them were Arabs. He also claimed the ambassadors’ visit may strengthen the ties between Santa Catarina and Arab countries, which are already consolidated, but may increase even further following the visit.
The dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors and representative of Palestine in Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, noted that on the very first day, the visit “started proving fruitful.” “The state possesses three valuable assets. Hard-working people, a natural beauty that makes tourism a source of revenue, and strong agroindustry, industry, services and infrastructure. From this first day, it has already become clear that the visit will yield good results,” he said.
The Chamber’s president Marcelo Sallum stated that the meeting of ambassadors and businessmen at the Fiesc headquarters will be conducive to business in the future. On this Tuesday, the diplomats will convene with some of the businessmen who attended the Fiesc meeting in order to discuss business opportunities.
“These meetings with the mayor, the governor and the businessmen are sure to contribute to boost relations between the state and the Arab countries. The meeting held at Fiesc, which is a long-standing partner with the Arab Chamber and has taken part in eight technical missions in the past, has been a great opportunity for the diplomats to make demands and for the executives in attendance to provide figures concerning the state’s economy,” said Sallum. This is the third visit of the Council of Arab Ambassadors to Santa Catarina. The other visits took place in 2005 and 2008.
The meetings this Monday were attended by the ambassadors of Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, Tunisia, Oman, Jordan, Qatar, Palestine and Sudan, and by the chargés d’affaires of Saudi Arabia and Mauritania. The director of the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations’ Middle East Department, Carlos Ceglia, is accompanying the trip.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
