São Paulo – Brazil is among the priorities for Egypt in the area of international cooperation. This information was disclosed on Friday (2nd) by the Egyptian minister of International Cooperation, Fayza Abul Naga, during her visit to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo. "Brazil is a priority among the countries with which we want to expand our cooperation," she said, in an interview to ANBA.
According to Fayza, there are many things to be shared among the two countries and one of the objectives of her visit to Brazil is to identify areas in which there may be exchange. One of the sectors already identified is agriculture. On Thursday, she was in Brasília, where she met with the minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Reinhold Stephanes, and with representatives of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
The minister said that topics discussed included areas where there is interest for the exchange of knowledge, like maize, cotton, soy, potato and sugarcane farming. "Brazil has clearly shown its intention of helping the African countries. Egypt is in this condition and I believe that it is an area we can explore further," said Stephanes, according to a ministry press statement.
Apart from being African, Egypt is an Arab country and Fayza recalled that both regions are foreign policy priorities for the government of Brazil. The minister represented Egypt at the 2nd South America-Africa Summit, which took place late last week, in Venezuela. On hearing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s address, she was very interested in the part in which he addressed the matter of development of agriculture in the Brazilian savannah.
Previously considered unproductive, the Brazilian savannah, which has characteristics similar to those of the African savannah, is currently one of the most productive grain areas in the world. Much of this development was due to Embrapa research. "We want the good practices of Brazil," said Fayza, recalling that most of the territory of her country is desert. Embrapa also developed seeds, soil management and irrigation techniques to guarantee productivity in semi-arid regions.
The minister also pointed out that Egypt is interested in gaining greater knowledge in the area of poultry and other animal farming, including the production of vaccines. The poultry sector was greatly affected by bird flu and now, according to her, the Brazilian Sadia is the main chicken distributor in Egypt. A little while ago, the country did not import chicken from Brazil.
Agreement
Fayza said that the Egyptian delegation presented a proposal for cooperation between the Embrapa and the Egyptian Agricultural Research Centre. The president of the Centre, Ayman Abou Hadid, was one of the members in the delegation travelling to Brazil accompanying the minister. "Agriculture is one of the engines for growth, especially when it involves small and medium producers," she said. "We have [agricultural] cultures and interests in similar research," said Hadid.
Fayza pointed out that, apart from exploration of opportunities in Egypt and Brazil, businessmen from both countries may sign partnerships to operate in nations in Africa. He also said that his country is interested in cooperation in the areas of renewable energies, fisheries, mining and tourism.
The president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Salim Taufic Schahin, said that the organisation wants to aid in this effort for exchange to "bring Egypt closer and closer to Brazil". He added that "there is a great engagement of the government of Brazil with regard to relations with the Arab nations".
Apart from Schahin, the minister was met at the Arab Brazilian Chamber by the secretary general, Michel Alaby, vice presidents Helmi Nasr (Foreign Relations) and Rubens Hannun (Marketing), as well as directors Bechara Ibrahim and Mustapha Abdouni.
Yesterday also, Fayza visited the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), where she met with the vice president Elias Miguel Haddad and with the joint directors of the International Relations and Foreign Trade department, Maurice Costin and Antonio Bessa. One of the topics discussed was the possibility of the organisation participating in a trade delegation to Egypt.
*Translated by Mark Ament