São Paulo – Food products made in Brazil will be advertised in Oman in October this year, in an action specifically targeting trade between the two countries, as per arrangements made by the Arab country’s Commerce and Industry minister Ali Al-Sunaidy and the Brazilian minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Armando Monteiro. They met this Thursday (04) in Brasília on occasion of the visit of a delegation of Omani government officials and executives to Brazil, headed by Sunaidy.
The Omani government delegation also attended the first meeting of the Brazil-Oman Bilateral Joint Commission this Thursday in Brasília, and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for investments with Brazil, as reported by ANBA on Wednesday (03). The MoU was signed on to by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry and the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development of the Sultanate of Oman.
The Joint Commission meeting agenda included a Brazil-Oman agreement on diplomatic and tourist visas. According to the undersecretary general for Africa and Middle East Political Affairs of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, Fernando Abreu, talks for the agreement, which eliminates visa requirements for official passport bearers and diplomats, as well as tourists staying less than 30 days, are at rather advanced stages.
This Wednesday, the Omani delegation had its second day of activities in Brazil. The group’s schedule began on Tuesday in São Paulo, with visits to vice president Michel Temer and São Paulo state vice governor Márcio França, a business matchmaking event at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and a business seminar at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp).
A hot topic both in São Paulo and Brasília was Oman’s need for food supplies, which Brazil could help fulfill, since the Arab nation’s output accounts for only 25% of its needs. The Omanis also said their country is a gateway to other markets, including Iran, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Arab Chamber CEO Michel Alaby, who accompanied the Omani delegation, said these countries have a combined population of 2 billion. During the meeting with Monteiro, Sunaidy suggested that a trade show be held in his country, so Brazilian foodstuffs can be introduced to the market of Oman and nearby countries. Monteiro committed to heading a Brazilian delegation on a trip to Oman in October. “The idea is to have several Brazilian companies participate,” Abreu told ANBA over the phone.
Investments
The memorandum on investments signed during the meeting of the Joint Commission will be used as institutional basis for the cooperation until the signing of a financial and investments cooperation agreement that the two countries are negotiating, according to information by Fernando Abreu. The future agreement should be used to guarantee investments of one country into the other, explains the undersecretary. The memorandum text already signed says that both parts will seek to develop activities of investments promotions, support business missions, investments projects, inform the other side about the investments scenario and promote exchange of training courses and experts, among other actions.
Sérgio França Danese, interim minister of Foreign Affairs, was the Brazilian authority that welcomed the Omani minister at the Joint Commission in Brasília. The minister, Mauro Vieira, is travelling abroad. According to Abreu, the topics discussed included the display of interest by Oman in investing in ports in Brazil, the possibility of cooperation in the training of small companies and technical cooperation in agriculture, including, in the latter, other countries as third parties.
The Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) offers courses in three languages in its website, which could be opened to the Omanis, according to talks during the commission’s meeting. In the case of the triangular cooperation in agriculture in a third country, that could be Sudan, for instance, food would be cultivated with the help of Brazil to be supplied to Oman.
Fernando Abreu also pointed out the business activities that occurred in São Paulo. According to him, “there are great business expectations and possibilities” to draw from them.
In the meeting with Temer, at the vice president’s office in São Paulo, Sunaidy was accompanied by the Arab Chamber’s president, Marcelo Sallum, and by Oman’s ambassador in Brazil, Khalid Al-Jaradi. Temer made himself available to be the contact between Brazil and Oman, both for government issues as for the private sector. He said that a visit to the Middle East this year is being considered and he praised the Arab Chamber’s work. Temer was invited to a visit to Oman by Sunaidy. The vice president already visited the Arab country in 2013, when the agreement that created the Bilateral Joint Commission was signed.
The Omani delegation was accompanied in Brasília by Alaby, Arab Chamber’s Government Relations manager Tamer Mansour, ambassador Jaradi and other authorities and advisors. The Omani embassy in Brazil started its activities in 2010.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum & Sérgio Kakitani
