São Paulo – On the second and last day of the Global Business Forum on Latin America, taking place in the United Arab Emirates and organized by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Brazilians took part in different panels. They discussed global trade, the halal economy and showcased investment opportunities and partnerships with the Arab countries.
“The day started with an overview on how the world is ever more globalized. Marcos Troyjo, for instance, mentioned Embraer’s plans to export to China and how the Chinese, in return, want the company to open a maintenance plant in the country,” said Tamer Mansour, Government Relations manager of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, who attended the event. Troyjo, born in Brazil, is one of the directors of the BRICLab at Columbia University, United States. The center focuses its studies on the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
In the panel Understanding Halal’s Potential – Opportunities on Islamic Economy, Mohamed El Zoghbi, president of the Federation of Muslim Associations in Brazil (Fambras), talked about the close ties between the United Arab Emirates and the Latin American countries and highlighted the way Brazil adapted to meet the demand of the Arab market until it became the world’s largest exporter of halal animal protein.
“He said that the Arabs could create a training program for the other South American countries, in which Arab exporters would train halal organizations in South America so they could better understand how it [this market] works,” said Mansour on Zoghbi’s presentation.
In the panel Opportunities in times of crisis, Juan Quirós, president of the São Paulo Investment Promotion Agency (Investe São Paulo), talked about the important role of the agency in attracting foreign companies to invest in the state of São Paulo.
“He talked about how the agency helps companies get set up, explaining the legislation [of Brazil] and helping them overcome the hurdles to establish themselves in the state,” said Mansour. “He also said that this is the best moment to invest in Brazil because we are recovering and our GDP should register growth again on 2018,” he added.
Besides Mansour, Daniel Hannun, the Arab Chamber’s Investments director, was representing the organization in the forum.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
