São Paulo – Leaders of the private and public sector from Brazil and the United Arab Emirates have made it clear that they are willing to strengthen ties and that the increased use of innovation and technology ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic can be an opportunity to do just that. “We can take this opportunity of innovation and technology to further our relation,” Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park CEO Hussein Al Mahmoudi said during the forum that brought together an audience from the two countries on Sunday (3) in Dubai. Pictured above, Al Mahmoudi and Abu Dhabi Ports Information Technology vice president Sarah Al-Najjar.
Al Mahmoud moderated the Partnerships in Innovation and Digital Technology for the Sustainable Development panel that was part of the Brazil-UAE Amazon Economic Sustainability Forum where representatives of the two regions discussed the topic. The forum was held by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) and could be watched in person in the UAE and remotely from anywhere around the world. UN Global Compact executive director Carlo Linkevieius Pereira opened the first session showing the extent of the global call for sustainability and the absolute necessity it became for business.
He said that sustainability means innovation from companies. “Innovation is intrinsic to sustainability, many companies call their sustainability department innovability,” he said, explaining it is due to the changes it causes. “Our productive and managerial processes are often inadequate, so we must innovate to have a lower negative impact, a reduction of the greenhouse gas, a better management of our employees, providing a higher mental health and more diverse companies – there are things that the society is demanding for and the financial sector now puts a price on,” Pereira said.
The speakers of the session addressed the efforts for innovation, technology and sustainability developed by the agencies and institutes they work for. Al Mahmoud said that the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park’s agenda is providing technology and innovation and use it to create an economic impact and opportunities, as well as building talents and human assets.
Sarah Al-Najjar said that the use of technology has benefited activities at Abu Dhabi Ports. The company is an operator of ports and industrial and logistic zones based in the UAE and elsewhere. “We’re introducing machine learning and artificial intelligence to have a perfect integration between various players,” she said on the operations. Al-Najjar spoke about the use of a new platform that integrates institutions and governments and provides services to consumers. She said that all this gives much transparency to the whole industry.
Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) Business director Lucas Fiuza said that Brazil is going through a new, digital moment. According to him, Brazil and the UAE have a strategic partnership mainly based on agriculture, with Brazil supplying proteins, and the new moment will bring an enabling environment for business. He said that the use of agricultural technology has helped Brazil plant in lands that had been seen as unideal and that the country can share this knowledge with the UAE.
Sustainability in the poultry industry
Brazil’s meat lobby ABPA technical director Sula Alves gave an overview on how Brazilian poultry farming works for sustainability. Poultry products are some of the exports from Brazil to the Arab countries. She said that sustainability also encompasses not starving and Brazil provides that by supplying foodstuffs to 150 countries for good prices, so that they have food security.
Alvez listed a number of actions for sustainability implemented by the poultry industry in Brazil like the use of breeds of birds fit for the environment, thus creating better results. “Due to its natural characteristics, Brazil has the capacity and the ability to produce foodstuffs,” ABPA technical director said.
The executive mentioned as sustainable activities the respect for the consumption, cultural and religious habits of each country Brazil supplies to, the production held outside the Amazonian biome, the high rate of recirculation and reuse of water in the poultry farms, the waste treatment, the integrated production system between companies and farmers that trains and appreciates them. “These are some examples of very common practices of our members,” she said.
Forum
The forum was held by the ABCC in partnership with the Ministry of the Economy of the UAE, the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Brazil’s Embassy in the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai Chamber. The debates took place in the Conrad Hotel in Dubai in parallel to Expo 2020, which opened to the public last Friday (1).
Read more on the Brazil – UAE Amazon Economic Sustainability Forum:
- Sharjah seeks investments in green technology
- JBS Fund for Amazon plans on raising BRL 1 billion by 2030
- Economic development linked with sustainability a challenge
- Brazil – UAE partnership overcame COVID’s challenges
Watch the forum on YouTube:
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
