São Paulo – The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, had a series of meetings with Syrian government officials and representatives in Damascus, yesterday and today (19th), to discuss actions for establishing closer ties between the Arab country and Brazil. Accompanied by the director of the organization, Sami Roumieh, Schahin met with the businessman Tarif Akhras, of the TAG group, with whom he discussed the establishment of the Brazil-Syria Business Council. Akhras should be the president on the Syrian side, and Schahin, on the Brazilian side.
The initiative is of the Syrian government and the council’s establishment had already been the theme of talks during a trip of the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s president to Syria in July of last year. The Brazilian government should also be involved in the process. According to Schahin, the members of the council are yet to be chosen, and it should start operating by the end of the current year. “The objective is not only to increase trade relations, but also to promote all sorts of closer ties,” said Schahin. Roumieh will be the Council’s vice-president.
The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber was also received by the Syrian minister of Expatriates, Joseph Sweed. They discussed a few ideas for the Meeting of Syrian Expatriates, which will take place in the city of São Paulo in November this year. According to Schahin, some ideas were debated in the cultural field, for instance. The group comprises a restricted group of Syrian expatriates and descendents who are active around the world, Schahin being one of them.
Schahin also met with the Syrian minister of Information, Mohsen Bilal, and with local businessmen. The meetings attended by Schahin and the Brazilian group in Syria were accompanied by the Brazilian ambassador to Damascus, Edgard Casciano, who participated in the discussions.
The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber travelled to Syria after participating in a trade mission to Iran, Egypt and Lebanon that was promoted by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, and took place from April 11th to 17th. The secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, also attended some of the meetings in Syria, to where he travelled to participate in the Healthcare trade fair.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum