São Paulo – Diplomat Tarcisio de Lima Ferreira Fernandes Costa, Brazil’s new ambassador to Lebanon, is having appointments in the city of São Paulo before he starts his mission in the Levant country. Costa visited on Tuesday (10) the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), where he was welcomed by ABCC president Osmar Chohfi, Institutional Relations director Fernanda Baltazar and International Relations vice president Mohamad Orra Mourad. Pictured, Costa and Chohfi.
The diplomat is set to take office later this month, and in an interview with ANBA, he highlighted as one of his priorities to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. This will Tarcisio Costa’s second post overseas. From 2019 to late 2022 he was Brazil’s consul-general in London.
The new ambassador stressed that the relation with Lebanon has the advantage of being supported by its relevant community of immigrants in Brazil. “This reinforces the legitimacy of the work in Lebanon. And not just that, it also requires a attentive look from both Brazilian state and Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Brazilian society on the challenges and hardships that the Lebanese people is going through. I’ll certainly try to contribute to reinforcing Brazil-Lebanon cooperation. Both humanitarian and technical,” he said.
The technical cooperation, he says, has a pivotal role and consequently long-term effects. In this respect, the work will be carried out in different sectors of priority interest for Lebanon where Brazil has the expertise to share.
Market
During the meeting at the ABCC, the ambassador and the institution’s directors discussed opportunities and ways to boost trade between the two countries. “It’s important to say that Lebanon is a ‘non-obvious’ market for Brazilian exporters, but this doesn’t mean that we can work in coordination with the ABCC, the Brazil-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, the Brazilian state’s authorities, including ApexBrasil,” Costa pointed out.
The opportunities for action include widening the presence of Lebanese in trade shows like supermarket fair APAS Show and events like business forum Global Halal Brazil, which attracts authorities and businesspeople from Brazil and elsewhere.
Other point discussed by the ambassador is culture in its different aspects, including literature, film festivals, and cuisine. Costa pointed out that Lebanon is the sole Arab country where there is a branch of Guimarães Rosa Institute. The space works towards cultural promotion and teaching Portuguese as a heritage language for the Brazilian community that lives in Lebanese capital Beirut.
The ambassador finished by pointing out his mission’s effort towards consular activities and accompanying the local and regional political situation.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
