Cairo – The Egyptian minister of Industry and Trade, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, intends to travel to Brazil once again this year, alongside a delegation of businessmen, in order to promote relations between the two countries in the fields of trade, tourism and investment. The information was disclosed yesterday (28th) by the minister himself during a meeting, in Cairo, with the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, and the secretary general of the organisation, Michel Alaby.
“In my last trip to Brazil, I was accompanied by 25 entrepreneurs. This time, I hope to double that figure and bring along at least 50 businessmen,” said Rachid. He travelled to Brazil for the last time in August last year. The minister asserted that the visit was crucial for raising the awareness of Egyptian politicians and businessmen of the importance of expanding joint work with Brazil.
The new trip may take place in July. “More than ever, our government is becoming interested in Brazil, and I consider that to be very positive, because I am among those who call for closer ties the most,” asserted Rachid. He added that relations are going to become more intense as the common interests of the two countries are multiplied in all sectors. The minister underscored that renowned institutions, such as the Arab Brazilian Chamber, make this process much easier, as they inspire the trust of governments and businessmen.
Schahin, in turn, declared that the two nations should seize the moment in order to consolidate not only trade relations, but also tourism and investment. He stated that president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration is deeply engaged in establishing closer ties with the Arab world. The Brazilian ambassador to Cairo, Cesário Melantonio, attended the meeting.
Also yesterday, the Arab Brazilian Chamber directors and the ambassador were received by the secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amr Mussa. Schahin highlighted the key role played by Mussa for the establishment of closer ties between Brazil and the Arab countries, for the promotion of the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), which already had two editions, and he also underscored the visible expansion of trade relations.
“Our trade relations with the Arab world have reached US$ 21 billion, an important increase over the US$ 6 billion that we used to have a few years ago,” declared Schahin. According to him, in the first quarter this year, exports from Brazil to the Arabs grew 4.1%, whereas exports to the rest of the world decreased by 19%, as a consequence of the international crisis.
According to the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, this is proof of the size that relations with the Arab world are acquiring for Brazil. He added that one of the signs of the interest of Brazil is the visit that president Lula is going to make to Saudi Arabia in May, in his fourth trip to the region.
Schahin claimed that he hopes for relations with the Arab world to evolve much further and extend beyond trade. “I would like to see cultural relations, tourism and civil society relations intensify and realize their potential as well,” he said.
House of Culture
He talked about his project for creating a House of Arab Culture in the city of São Paulo, along the lines of those that already exist in Paris and in Madrid. Mussa was enthused about the idea, is willing to fully back up the initiative, and intends to come to Brazil for the inauguration. “In the Arab world, we have a wide range of organisations that already work in this field with other regions of the world. They must become aware of the importance of looking more to countries such as Brazil and other South American nations, where the people look a lot more like us than in any other region,” declared the secretary general of the League.
Schahin also mentioned the intention of Brazil of playing a more important role in peace negotiations in the Middle East. “We, in Brazil, have a very interesting history of coexistence and dialogue between different communities, and perhaps because of that we might be able to contribute in a constructive manner to improve communication and the search for peace in the Middle East,” he declared. “Besides, Brazil is increasingly present in important global issues, therefore it is only natural that the country may play a role as mediator,” he added.
In addition to Schahin, Alaby and Melantonio, the meeting with Mussa was also attended by the advisor to the Brazilian embassy, Otavio Chelotti, the head of the Latin American department at the League of Arab States, Ibrahim Moheildin, and advisors Heba Cajiji and Mona Al Eguezi.
In between the two meetings, Schahin and Alaby attended luncheon with local business leaders at the residency of ambassador Melantonio, among them the president of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Khaled Abou Ismail, the president of the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA), Hussein Sabbour, the president of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, Galal El Zorba, Raouf Ghabbour, of the Ghabbour group, and Abdel Wahab Mansour, of the Lotas group.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
