São Paulo – Bahrain chose Brazil to open its first Embassy in Latin America and plans to enhance its ties with the latter through the newly opened facility. Although an opening ceremony is yet to take place, the Embassy of Bahrain in Brasília went into operation last August and its chargé d’affaires Bader Alhelaibi (on the right in the picture) visited the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo this Monday (3) to plan out actions designed to build Brazil-Bahrain ties.
Alhelaibi claims that his country had decided to open an embassy in Brazil long ago, and that Bahraini authorities have always wanted to do so. They think of Brazil as an economically and industrially important country. Speaking with ANBA, the diplomat pointed out that Brazil is a member of the G20, a group comprising the world’s biggest economies.
Alhelaibi intends to work on getting Brazilian and Bahraini businesspersons in touch by holding bilateral forums. He launched talks with the Arab Chamber for a forum next year in Bahrain, where both countries could present projects to be targeted by foreign investment, as well as discuss possibilities in foreign trade. He will discuss the idea with Bahraini government officials and believes this might be the first of many such actions.
The chargé d’affaires claims that facilities are in place for investors in Bahrain, which is interested in drawing funds into education, healthcare, energy, tourism and construction. The country is working on getting international schools and hospitals into its territory. Conversely, Bahrain is also interested in investing in Brazil, and the forums would enable Brazilians to explain which fields they want investors to get into. Investment between the two countries is still minor, except for instances like Banco ABC, a Brazilian bank controlled by Bahrain’s Arab Banking Corporation, which has offices in São Paulo.
Bahrain is interested in doing more trade with Brazil. It could sell oil and oil products, aluminum, jewelry and precious stones, according to Alhelaibi. The Arab country is home to Alba, one of the world’s leading aluminum companies, in addition to famously being a pearl-producing country. The chargé d’affaires believes Brazil could import food items, including proteins and grains, as well as beverages from Bahrain. He also envisions deals in solar power, which he said Brazil is quite advanced in.
Bahrain is also looking to get Latin American tourists to visit. The diplomat said that the country welcomes lots of visitors from Europe, the United States and Asia, but few from Latin America. Ásia, mas poucos turistas da América Latina. Alhelaibi notes that Bahrain is an island surrounded by beautiful beaches, in addition to being home to lots of malls, the best restaurants in the world, museums that portray its history and culture, and marketplaces. “The people of Bahrain are very simple. They welcome everyone with open arms,” he said.
Alhelaibi, who’s been in Brazil for only four months, claims he has confirmed the image that he – and the Bahraini government – already had of Brazil as an economically important country. He first arrived in São Paulo, a bustling, New York-like city where things go on 24/7, and then moved on to Brasília, where life goes on at a slower pace. Alhelaibi really enjoys São Paulo, but he also said he admires the urban planning and the way things are structured in Brasília.
The chargé d’affaires intends to rely on the Arab Chamber’s partnership to enhance Brazil-Bahrain trade and investments. He points out that the latter has been working for Brazilian-Arab trade for several years now, and believes it will play a key role when it comes to Bahrain. The idea is to get the Chamber to help bring Bahraini businesses into Brazil, and for the Embassy to help the Arab Chamber in getting its member companies into Bahrain.
Bahrain’s economy is 75% oil-based, but its tourism and services sectors are strong as well, and major investment is underway in healthcare and education. According to numbers from the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, the bulk of exports from Bahrain to Brazil consists of fertilizers, fuel, aluminum, plastic and chemicals, with sales reaching USD 101.4 million from January to October. During that time, Brazil exported mostly ores, poultry, petroleum coke and beef, coming out to a combined USD 340 million in sales. Bilateral trade was USD 442 million.
Alhelaibi was welcomed at the Chamber offices by International Relations vice president Osmar Chohfi and by interim CEO Tamer Mansour (on the left in the picture at the top of this story), besides other Chamber professionals. The Chamber also arranged for him to attend meetings with delegates from Brazilian companies and organizations on Monday and Tuesday.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
