São Paulo – The minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge, had a meeting with Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Salim Taufic Schahin, ambassadors and other diplomats of Arab countries in Brazilian capital Brasília last week.
According to the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, who also participated in the event, one of the themes disused was the upcoming ministry trip to the Middle East. Jorge plans to head a trade mission to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman in September.
This should be the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade’s third trip to the region. In April, Jorge headed a trade delegation to Iran, Egypt and Lebanon. Early last year, a group of businessmen was taken to Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
The meeting focussed on trade and investment relations between Brazil and the Arab countries. In this respect, the minister pointed out that the agreement for trade between the Mercosur and Egypt, launched in 2004, should be signed in July, at the summit of the South American bloc, in Argentina.
The ambassador of Egypt, Ahmed Darwish, said that the Egyptian minister of Industry and Trade, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, should visit Brazil soon after the summit.
If the agreement is signed, this should be the first treaty of the kind signed between the Mercosur and an Arab country, and the second extra-regional one. The first was established with Israel and the other agreements that the bloc has are with other Latin American nations.
In the Arab world, the Mercosur is also negotiating with Jordan, Morocco and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC – which includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman).
Still regarding agreements, ambassadors spoke about the possibility of signing treaties for promotion and protection of reciprocal investment. Jorge said that protection to foreign investors is guaranteed by the Constitution, which grants foreign capital the same treatment as that granted to domestic capital. This position is always defended by the government of Brazil when asked about agreements of the kind.
The diplomats also pointed out the importance of agreements to avoid dual income tax on the profits of Arab companies that have operations in Brazil and vice versa. This is a frequent demand of the government of Brazil to foreign authorities.
Other actions that should help boost trade were also discussed. The ambassador of Qatar, Jamal Nasser Al Bader, recalled that Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should visit Doha next week, in the company of a trade delegation.
The ambassador of Sudan, Abd Elghani Elnaim Awad Elkarim, said that the minister of Agriculture of his country, Abdelhalim Al Mouttafi, should also travel to Brazil next week.
Schahin, in turn, pointed out that the Arab Brazilian Chamber recently established committees responsible for the development of activities in the areas of foreign trade, investment, tourism and culture.
The minister and ambassadors also spoke about the establishment of bilateral councils with the objective of stimulating business. There are already councils of the sort between Brazil and Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Algeria, all with Arab Brazilian Chamber participation.
The meeting also included the ministry’s Foreign Trade secretary, Welber Barral, and the advisor for international affairs, Mauro Couto.
*Translated by Mark Ament
