São Paulo – Brazil will play an even more important role in Arab food security. That was one projection for Arab-Brazilian relations expressed by Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) president Rubens Hannun during the opening ceremony of the Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries on Monday (19). The ceremony featured Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro and Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
The event is themed “The Future is Now.” Hannun said that the Arab countries are becoming a global standard in technology, environmental preservation, and sustainable production. “Brazil, in turn, will play an even more prominent role in Arab food security. Therefore, there is plenty of potential to create and expand alliances,” Hannun said.
Due to their natural conditions, the Arab countries are not major food producers and largely depend on imports to supply their supermarkets. Brazil is a major source of food items for them. “As you can see, the potential for the Brazil-Arab bilateral relations is huge and still has plenty of space to grow,” the ABCC’s president said.
Hannun gave a preview of the actions to be carried out during the forum that could strengthen Arab-Brazilian relations even more, such as trade and logistics agreements, ABCC internationalization initiatives, and efforts to raise awareness of its social, cultural and food security activities, as well as other measures to reduce bureaucracy and provide safety to export and import processes and add value to Brazilian brands and products.
Addressing the event’s central topic, “The Future is Now,” the ABCC’s president added that Brazil and Arab countries knew how to implement a series of actions in the economic, commercial and cultural fields allowing for this future to be built. “In this atypical year, when unpredicted contingencies have changed the lives of people, companies and governments in so many ways, the world has had to reinvent itself,” Hannun said.
He mentioned the staging of the forum as an example. “The ABCC has entered the digital revolution,” he said, explaining that the event was originally conceived as an in-person event. Hannun also addressed how the Brazilian-Arab relations have become digital. “Brazilians and Arabs maintain a bilateral relation that sets an example for the world. There are no barriers, difficulties or behaviors that can’t be solved,” he said.
The ABCC’s president said there are plenty of opportunities between Brazil and the Arab countries, and that one must seize them. “Our economies are complementary, which is more than enough reason to strike even more consistent partnerships in this forum,” he said. The Arabs are Brazil’s third largest foreign trade partner, the second in agribusiness, and there are reciprocal investments between the regions. Hannun said that new Arab investments in Brazil have been announced since the president Bolsonaro’s visit to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia last November.
Hannun pointed out the bonds forged with the Arab immigration into Brazil, and that the Arab community is now 6% of the Brazilian population, which is almost 12 million people. The ABCC’s president added that the Arabs and Arab descendants have a strong presence in the Brazilian agribusiness, accounting for 12% of its leadership positions, and associations, reaching 26% of their leadership positions.
The Lebanese consist of the largest part of the Arab community in Brazil. Hannun thanked president Bolsonaro for the humanitarian contribution to Lebanon following the Beirut blast in early August. The federal government sent a plane with donations to the Arab country, and a large part of them were collected from the Arab community in Brazil.
Hannun said he expects the Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries to represent a positive contribution for the Arab-Brazilian strategic partnership. The virtual event takes place until next Thursday (22), with panels from 9 am to 1:30 pm (BRT), and an exhibition featuring Arab and Brazilian companies. The panels are presented by journalist and TV host Renata Maron. The forum is hosted by the ABCC in partnership with the Union of Arab Chambers and the Arab League.
Check out the full coverage of the event on ANBA.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda