São Paulo – The dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil, Ibrahim Alzeben, and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce CEO, Michel Alaby, were in the Rio Grande do Sul state capital Porto Alegre this Monday (29th), where they convened with governor José Ivo Sartori, the state’s secretary for Economic Development, Science and Technology, Fábio de Oliveira Branco, and the mayor of Porto Alegre, José Fortunati. The agenda included trade and investments between the state and countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to Alaby, the meetings were intended to discuss trade shows and missions that could be conducive to business deals for local companies in the Arab countries, and to call on local entrepreneurs to engage in said missions and shows.
As cases in point, he cited the business mission to North Africa that the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) is planning, and the Big 5, a building industry expo slated for November 23rd to 26th in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The Apex’s mission was initially scheduled for the first half, but was postponed and could take place in the second half.
Another subject discussed was the visit the Council of Arab Ambassadors plans on paying to the state this year. According to Alzeben, the state government committed to preparing a new trade and investment profile to show what Rio Grande do Sul has to offer Arabs, and which of the state’s needs can be fulfilled by the Arabs.
Alaby also discussed the idea of having a delegation of local authorities travel to the Middle East to outline cooperation agreements.
Alzeben, who is the ambassador of Palestine in Brazil, elaborated on the situation in his country, and a project for making sister cities out of Porto Alegre and Ramallah, in the West Bank. According to him, most Palestinians living in Rio Grande do Sul are from the Ramallah area.
“We also talked about the [Palestinian] refugees who are arriving [in Brazil], we called on the state and city hall for support, especially in healthcare and education,” Alzeben said. The diplomat also invited local officials to visit Palestine.
“*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
