São Paulo – A fund could be created in Brazil to help Lebanon emerge from one of the worst economic crises in history. The possibility of launching an initiative such as a trust fund whereby Brazilians could invest in projects in Lebanon was discussed by leaders of the Lebanese and Arab diaspora and diplomats on Tuesday (6) at the headquarter of the São Paulo Commercial Association (ACSP) in the city of São Paulo. The fund would be an opportunity for the Lebanese Brazilian community to help their country of origin.
The idea was given by ambassador Carla Jazzar, the chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Lebanon in Brasília, and welcomed by representatives of the entities of the community who attended the event. The Seminar “United for Lebanon” was streamed live on the Internet. After the meeting, a work group is expected to be created to discuss the implementation of the fund and other initiative to help Lebanon in its economic recovery.
Jazzar talked about the situation and Lebanon and pointed out the severe problems the country has gone through. Housing 400,000 Palestinian refugees and 1 million Syrian refugees, Lebanon was already in a challenging economic situation that has worsened since the Beirut Port blast last year and the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the Beirut tragedy, Brazil sent distress relief to Lebanon.
The World Bank ranked the Lebanese situation as one of the world’s three most severe crises since the second half of the 19th century, Jazzar said. The diplomat added that within less than two years, the Lebanese pound lost over 100% of its value and the situation could get even worse. This made the purchasing power of the average wage fall sharply. “This reduces the people’s capacity to pay for food, housing, healthcare,” the diplomat said.
The World Bank report estimates that over half the Lebanese population could be below the poverty line. According to Jazzar, a survey from late 2020 found that 41% of the households in the country find it challenging to buy foodstuffs and other staple goods. Due to the dwindling Lebanese reserves, it’s been hard to import essentials such as food and fuels. “As imports drop, pharmacies cannot offer basic medicines,” Jazzar says.
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“This social landscape we see in Lebanon today is wholly desolate. Lebanon is in the same situation that led your parents and grandparents to migrate to Brazil in early 20th century. So it’s time to act, time to go back to the country of your ancestors, time to bridge this huge gap,” the ambassador told the members of the Lebanese community in Brazil.
Jazzar said she discussed the idea of creating a fund with Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations. In the light of the acceptance, she decided to move forward and discuss the idea in the seminar with the Lebanese community and general audience. The fund would be aimed to draw private and public resources and support communities, industries and companies in Lebanon for the purpose of creating new opportunities of jobs, sustainable revenue, and helping developing sectors.
More trade to help
The director of the Middle East Department of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sidney Leon Romeiro, who attended the seminar, pointed out that Brazil and Lebanon have developed a steady political relation over the years that don’t change despite the changes in government. “This is related to the affective bonds that bring Lebanon and us together,” he said.
Romeiro mentioned government initiatives to boost trade and investments between the countries and gave a series of suggestions nf how Brazil could help Lebanon. He mentioned the possibility of increasing the Brazilian business presence in the Arab country, boosting trade, cooperating in fields such as energy and agribusiness, training Lebanese businesspeople, establishing investment facilitation agreements, and others.
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) president Osmar Chohfi spoke about the history of immigration that brings Brazil and Lebanon together and presented trade figures between the countries that made it clear that trade could be bigger, particularly in imports, which would help Lebanon. Chohfi said Brazil exported last year USD 157 million worth in goods to Lebanon, mostly commodities, and imported USD 3 million. He said that new goods, including value-added products, should be incorporated in this trade.
The president of ACSP, senator Alfredo Cotait Neto, hosted the seminar. He mentioned the need to fast-track the Lebanon-Mercosur free trade agreement, which is in talks, and said an avenue for Brazil to help Lebanon would be importing more. According to Cotait, Brazil doesn’t purchase much now, and importing more is one of the main things it could do. He defended a special taxing arrangement for that.
Work committee
Rudy El Azzi, general consul of Lebanon in São Paulo, called the attendees to think on actions together. The businesspeople and officials expressed their willingness to help. Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil (Fambras) president Mohamed El Zoghbi suggested the creation of a work committee to put the fund in operation. Cdial Halal CEO Ali Saifi expressed his willingness to help as wel. Brazil’s former president Michel Temer participated over the Internet and suggested that the fund could even be international.
The seminar was also attended by ambassador Affonso Massot, executive secretary for International Relations of the state of São Paulo; Guilherme Mattar, secretary-general of the Brazil-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce; Marcos Demetrio Haik, president of Esport Clube Sírio; Mohamad Mourad, vice president of International Relations of the ABCC; and José Roberto Maluf, president of Father Anchieta Foundation.
It was also attended by Ana Cláudia Badra Cotait, chairwoman of the Women Entrepreneurs & Culture Council of the ACSP; councilman Roberto Goular; Abdo Hadade of the Federation of Industries of State of São Paulo (Fiesp); Wilson Victorio Rodrigues, vice president of the Brazil-Lebanon Mediation and Arbitration Chamber; ABCC Marketing & Content director Silvana Gomes; and ABCC Institutional Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar. Most of them gave suggestions on how to help Lebanon.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
