São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce has opened registrations for the Brazil Arab-Countries Economic Forum to be held by the organization on April 14 in Hotel Unique in São Paulo, with the aim of fostering Arab-Brazilian partnerships in different sectors.
This year’s forum is titled “The Future is Now” and represents a step forward from the last one that ran in April 2018, which was themed “Building the Future.” “The 2018 forum showed there was a potential to reinforce Brazilian-Arab relations, and now is the time to implement partnerships and make them more consistent,” said Arab Chamber president Rubens Hannun.
The conference will bring together investors, businesspeople, representations of civil society, officials, diplomats, and other professionals from both Brazil and the Arab countries, as well as leaders of multilateral organizations. Already confirmed lecturers include the secretary-general of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and Union of the Arab Chambers, Khaled Hanafy.
The League is for the 22 Arab nations as the Organization of American States (OAS) is for the American countries. The Union is the leading organization of business representations in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The businesspeople will have the chance to talk in person with potential partners,” said Hannun. “We’ll put suppliers and buyers of the same sector face to face,” he stressed.
The topics discussed in the panels include international economy, food security, investment, technology, industry 4.0, trade, major international events, sustainability, the halal market, infrastructure, logistics, and tourism.
Hannun pointed out that food security is an extremely important matter for both sides, as Brazil is a food producer and the Arabs are consumers concerned with scarcity, given the arid climate that dominates the region.
The increase in business in this supply chain leads to other opportunities such as investment in infrastructure and logistics to facilitate good transport as well as the development and implementation of new technologies to promote business in non-food sectors.
Other shared interests to both parties are major international events such as Expo 2020 to take place in Dubai later this year, 2022 Work Cup in Qatar, the Formula 1 races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the large culture and entertainment festivals to be held in Saudi Arabia, and others.
Hannun pointed out that Brazil has an extensive experience in these, as it hosted the World Cup, the Olympics, has hosted Formula 1 for almost 50 years, and festivals such as Rock in Rio thrive around here. The country and its companies have a lot to offer in this sense.
“And all this has to be based on a sustainable economy, using renewable energy sources,” the executive stressed, pointing out still another sector of great interest for both regions.
The forum will also see the launch of a prize for young entrepreneurs to be awarded in the second half of the year.
Quick facts
Brazil-Arab Countries Economic Forum: The Future is Now
When: April 14, 2020, starting 8:30 am
Where: Hotel Unique, Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 4700, São Paulo, SP
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
