Dubai – The state of Paraná in the South of Brazil wants to strengthen trade ties with the Arab countries. To this end, the government has sent a delegation to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, led by governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior (PSD). Invest Paraná director president José Eduardo Bekin and industry group FIEP chairman Carlos Valter met on Saturday (9) with representatives of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) to discuss trade opportunities between the state and the Arab countries.
They decided to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) next Tuesday (12) during the business seminar Paraná Business Experience held by Invest Paraná in parallel to Expo 2020. In the event, they will also launch an office of Invest Paraná in Dubai modeled after the office of Invest SP that opened in February 2020. Paraná is the first Brazilian state to take over Brazil pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai. From Sunday (10) on, the state’s activities will run through a week in the exhibition.
The meeting with the ABCC was the first official appointment of Paraná Business Experience. The technical-commercial mission aims at attracting new investments to the state over the week after the opportunities created by Expo Dubai 2020. This is the first time the state goes on a mission to the UAE. Invest Paraná is a government agency created to support the state’s companies and new investments.
In the meeting, they highlighted trade opportunities focused on agribusiness, food industry, technology, public-private partnerships, ESG agenda, and enhancing opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Paraná and the Arab countries. ESG is short for Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance.
They also discussed Paraná’s expertise in the cooperative business model and environmental field and mentioned a tree planting project that can help the Arab countries deal with desert soils.
The signing of the agreement between the entities will give rise to a joint work plan and a partnership wo implement Invest Paraná business office in the emirate to give strategic support to Paraná-based companies that want to strengthen trade relations with the region.
“The MoU is based on two pillars: Opening bilateral doors and establishing a work plan. We’ve discussed the upcoming events, including a food trade show that takes place in the UAE (Gulfood) and a mission made up of representatives of Arab investment funds and industries to visit Paraná,” Bekin detailed. Invest Paraná has an office based in Miami, United States.
Eduardo Bekin said that Paraná is on the path of food industrialization to assure a higher value added and that agribusiness is still the main driver for the state’s economy, so the benefits from internationally exploring these sectors are huge.
“Opening these doors that the ABCC can open is important for the Paraná-based companies. The main discussion topics were opportunities for SMEs and farmers. We are leaving this meeting with an outlined work plan already,” he said.
Another topic was the two-way avenue mentioned by Carlos Valter. He suggested that the Arabs could assure a security in the shipment of fertilizers to the state, and in return, Paraná could help assure their food security by shipping foodstuffs. “We can explore this trade relation even further,” he said.
ABCC president Osmar Chohfi believes the meeting marks a very important opening for the two regions, since one activity of the entity is helping to train SMEs in foreign trade between the two regions.
“Paraná has a very strong agricultural and industrial production that can be of great interest for Arab importers. Prospects are great. We know that the state has some of the best experiences in cooperative businesses in Brazil, and this can be useful for the Arab countries. Paraná-based cooperatives can find great markets in the [Arab countries] but can also share their experiences with Arab companies on how to set up cooperatives to sell more,” he said.
The meeting featured Invest Paraná Economic Development and Foreign Affairs director Giancarlo Rocco, Brasília-based Paraná Representation Office head Rubens Bueno Filho, FIEP chairperson advisor Letícia Yumi, ABCC secretary general Tamer Mansour, ABCC Institutional Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar, and ABCC Dubai-based international office head Rafael Solimeo.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
