São Paulo – The Brazilian participation attracted attention at the 3rd Arab Businessmen Federation Forum held this week in Beirut, Lebanon. The treasurer of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Nahid Chicani, gave a lecture on the economic and migratory relations between the Arab world and Brazil, a theme that aroused the interest of local businessmen attending the event. "At the end of the lecture, many of them told me that they were interested in taking business trips to Brazil," said Chicani in a telephone interview to ANBA.
Chicani talked about the large Arab colony living in Brazil, discussed the Arab colony living in Brazil, including the nine million Lebanese and descendents, the influence they had on the country’s development, and he also told participants of the good moment that the Brazilian economy is experiencing, with the perspective of hosting the World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games, the exports and the population. "They were surprised upon learning that we have nine million Lebanese people and descendents in Brazil," said Chicani.
The size of the Brazilian territory also attracted attention, according to the treasurer. Chicani was sought, by the end of his presentation, by businessmen from various Arab countries, from Libya to Kuwait, in addition to Lebanon itself, who were interested in knowing more about Brazil. The Arab Brazilian Chamber representative, who attended the forum alongside the organization’s director Mustapha Abdouni, also spoke on the activities of the Chamber and underscored a few actions, including a dinner organized to pay tribute to president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The forum was held on Thursday and Friday at the conference hall of Habtoor Grand Hotel. According to Chicani, approximately 400 businessmen attended the meeting on the first day and more than 200 attended on the second day. The treasurer of the Arab Brazilian Chamber claims that Brazilian participation, as well as that of Turkey, another non-Arab country invited to the event, had great emphasis.
The Brazilian attendance was highlighted by the vice president and secretary general of the Arab Businessmen Federation, Thabet A. Taher, who presided over the panel of which Chicani was a lecturer, and by the chairman of the organization, Hamdi Tabba’a. The chairman of the Federation, by the way, read to the audience a letter sent by the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Salim Taufic Schahin, who was unable to attend.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum