São Paulo – Brazil’s National Congress approved on Thursday (4) the Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement (CFIA) between Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. It was signed in 2019 but still had to be appreciated by the Congress and will now go to Brazil’s president to sign it into law.
In a statement from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, Foreign Trade Chamber (CAMEX) executive secretary Marcela Carvalho was quoted as saying that the agreement is important for attracting foreign investments to Brazil, thus creating jobs and opportunities for the workers in the country.
“We know there’s a huge potential to receive investments from the UAE, particularly in infrastructure, as the UAE’s sovereign funds own assets worth over USD 1 billion,” Carvalho was quoted as saying.
One of the new things of the agreement is the creation of an “Investments Ombudsman”, a position established by CAMEX. They will be tasked with supporting investors and preventing controversies. According to CAMEX, the evolution of the stock of foreign direct investment from the UAE in Brazil has grown significantly since 2015, from USD 115 million to USD 1.2 trillion in 2018.
What is the CFIA?
The model of the Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement was created by Brazil based on a consultation with the private sector focusing on improving the business environment by enhancing the institutional governance, adopting risk mitigation mechanisms and preventing controversies, as well as developing agendas on topics of interest for the countries in investment cooperation and facilitation.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
