Jeddah – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce signed on Monday (18) an agreement for cooperation with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in the main business hub in Saudi Arabia. The objective is to promote business between Brazilian and Saudi companies.
For such, the agreement forecasts a series of activities, like the exchange of information, promotion of trade missions, participation in business fairs, promotion of conferences and support to associates of one organisation seeking opportunities in the other’s country.
The document was signed by Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO Michel Alaby and by the secretary general at the Jeddah Chamber, Adnan Hussain Mandourah, at the Saudi institution’s headquarters. Alaby is participating in a trade delegation organized by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) that is visiting the city on the Red Sea. The Image and Market Access coordinator at the Apex, Vinícius Estrela, also participated in the meeting.
One of the effects of this partnership may be future promotion of business roundtables between members of both countries by videoconferencing. The Jeddah Chamber has successfully been using this formula in international negotiations and uses advanced equipment for such. The organisation has 63,000 associates.
Potential
The sector with the greatest activity in the Saudi city nowadays, according to executives at Jeddah Chamber, is the construction sector. In fact, there are works on all sides. They are residential, commercial and infrastructure projects. There is great demand for housing, according to the secretary general at the organisation, Mohi Al-Din Hakami, and this will be the theme of the economic forum to take place in the city in March. The main challenge in this area is the reduction in cost of real estate, according to him.
“We do not only want products, but also technology, know-how,” added Mandourah, the secretary general. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia is doing well in the political, social and economic point of view, and that this is a “good sign” for companies. In his evaluation, Brazilian and Saudi companies need to create more joint projects.
Another strong sector in the city is food. Apart from a population of almost 4 million inhabitants, and growing, Jeddah receives many expatriate workers and Mandourah pointed out that these people need consumer goods, especially food products. Apart from natives and foreign workers, the city also serves as a gateway for millions of Muslim pilgrims who visit the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina each year. For centuries the site has been a cosmopolitan hotspot, as well as an important port centre.
Most of the Brazilian delegation to Saudi Arabia is made up of companies in the food sector. On Sunday, Alaby had a meeting with the organizers of Food Arabia, a fair in the sector that is promoted in May and should include an Arab Brazilian Chamber stand with space for companies interested in exhibiting.
Mandourah pointed out that the objective of the Chamber of Commerce and industry is to simplify the business and stated that the organisation is open to cooperate with the Brazilian partners in whatever is possible.
Portal
The manager of the Knowledge Centre at the Chamber, Alaa Faisal Al-Safeh, also showed the operation of the portal released by the institution to supply varied economic information about cities in the country “for people interested in doing business in Jeddah”. Available in Arabic and English, site Jeddah Economic Gateway may be viewed at address www.jeg.org.sa. It presents opportunities for investment, trade as well as tenders, legislation, statistics, quotes, reports and sectorial information, among others.
*Translated by Mark Ament
