São Paulo – Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun and CEO Michel Alaby had meetings with the League of Arab States’ secretary-general Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and assistant secretary-general for Economic Affairs Kamal Hassan Ali this Wednesday (1st) in Cairo.
According to Hannun, Aboul-Gheit expressed keen interest in building closer ties with Brazil. “He displayed great interest in Brazil, in working closer in business with Brazil,” the Arab Chamber president said.
The conversation evolved around prospective partnerships. The Arab Chamber executives proposed a food security project, which was later discussed in depth at the meeting with Ali. There is a big concern over food supplies in the Arab world, since the region is heavily dependent on imports. Brazil, in turn, is a major agriculture and livestock exporter.
“Brazil has the product, and the Arab world has this concern with who can supply its demand. The idea is to discuss how to match these interests. The strengthening of trade will ensue naturally, but the primary focus must be on the social aspect, of ensuring that this demand is met,” stressed Hannun.
One of the options is to have a workshop in order to discuss eventual obstacles to this plan involving Brazil and the Arab countries. “The Arab Brazilian Chamber has offered to find ways to identify the needs of the Arab countries, the industries that need to be worked on, etc.,” said Hannun. He believes the initiative will lead to closer integration between the Arab Chamber and the League.
Also attending the meeting with Aboul-Gheit were the League’s undersecretary-general for Political Affairs, Hossalmedin Zaki, a former ambassador of Egypt in Brazil; the head of the League’s Americas Department, Karim El Abd; the ambassador of Brazil in Cairo, Ruy Amaral; and the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s Government Relations manager Tamer Mansour. The meeting with ali was attended by the League’s director for Arab-Foreign Chambers of Commerce, Manal Mowafi; and Dina Mongy, of the Brazilian embassy.
The Arab Chamber executives also had a meeting with the head of the General Organization for Import and Export Control (GOEIC), Ismail Jaber, to lay down a schedule and streamline the incorporation of the Chamber’s digital certification system into exports from Brazil to Egypt.
Hannun, Alaby and Mansour also sat down for a meeting with Brazil-Egypt Business Council president Emad Elsewedy to go over aspects of the organization’s workings.
In the next two days, the Arab Chamber executives will have several meetings with Egyptian authorities and business leaders. Their schedule was organized by the Chamber in tandem with the embassy of Egypt in Brasília.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
