São Paulo – A delegation of government officials from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, held a seminar in the city of São Paulo today (3rd) to present investment opportunities in the emirate. A total of 60 Brazilian businessmen attended.
“There are not enough products for our region. The Menasa (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) is a strong area for Brazilian products. We want Brazilian products and regional offices in Dubai,” said Fahad Al Gergawi, director of the Dubai Foreign Investment Office, during a press conference after the seminar.
“Dubai is not going through a crisis, certain areas of Dubai are. Dubai is an excellence centre when it comes to business. No other centre offers the opportunities that Dubai does,” added Gergawi.
The executive also underscored the support offered by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in encouraging trade between Dubai and Brazil. Michel Alaby, the secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, recalled that the organization “promotes missions to the emirate approximately four times a year.”
The advantages that the emirate offers include tax exemption and its strategic geographic location, which makes it a distribution centre of goods to the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
With regard to distribution of goods, one of the great new features presented at the event is the possibility of goods that arrive by sea being loaded into aircraft within four hours of arrival. This will be made possible with the opening of Dubai’s new airport, the Al Maktoum International Airport, due June 27th, by means of a connection with the Jebel Ali Port.
“This does not take place anywhere else in the world,” said Rashed Buqara’a, head of operations of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority. “It guarantees to merchants that within a four-period, their product arrives at the Jebel Ali port, is processed and loaded into an aircraft. They can rest assured that the good will reach the customer on time. This is the idea,” he stated.
“Our objective, with the Jebel Ali Airport, is developing a 12-million-tonne cargo capacity. Presently, the world’s largest cargo terminal, in Memphis (United States), has capacity for 4 million tonnes; we want three times more. This, however, is a long-term goal, for the next 20, 30 years,” added Buqara’a.
According to Saad Al Awadi, CEO of the Dubai Export Development Corporation, several types of Brazilian products and services may find a market in Dubai. He mentioned examples such as “aviation, logistics, education, healthcare, agriculture, construction, ceramics and plastics.” “Any product for which there is space in the region will be welcome,” he claimed.
To the projects manager of the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), Expedito Silva, Dubai should be regarded as a hub for trade and logistics. “This empowers [the emirate] to be a large single launching pad to the global market, proof of which is the presence of over 6,000 companies operating there,” he asserted.
Also attending the seminar were representatives of the Emirates NBD Bank, the Jebel Ali Free Zone, the Dubai Airport Free Zone, the Emirates Group, among others.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
