São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates are considering opening a consulate in São Paulo. The information was disclosed this Friday (16th) by the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Antonio Patriota, after a meeting with the Arab country’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the Brazilian foreign ministry (Itamaraty) in Brasília. “This is very good news,” said Patriota. The Emirates’ only embassy in Brazil is located in Brasília.
According to the Brazilian minister, the measure will help to make the ties between the two countries even closer. He added that the Emirates are opening new embassies in South America. “There is much enthusiasm on the part of the Emirates regarding the economic growth and progress of South America, he said.
Nahyan claimed that bilateral relations, especially regarding trade, are already good, but not sufficient. “We have great opportunities to improve trade, as well as relations in other areas,” he said. He stressed that his country is “very active” in investment, and offers good opportunities in business and cooperation.
Patriota informed that the eventual establishment of a Brazil-Emirates Entrepreneurial Council in the near future was also discussed. Nahyan met with the Brazilian ministers of Development, Industry and Foreign TRade, Fernando Pimentel, and of Mines and Energy, Edison Lobão.
The creation of a bilateral task force in charge of seeking ways to establish closer ties between the two countries was also addressed, according to the Brazilian foreign minister. He said this initiative may help find opportunities not only in trade and investment, but also in fields such as defence and trilateral cooperation, by involving other Middle Eastern and African countries. Patriota said the Emirates possesses the means to fund projects to this end. The Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, for instance, is the world’s largest.
Nahyan also mentioned the energy and tourism sectors, including the possibility of having more direct flights, in addition to Emirates Airline’s two daily flights from Dubai to São Paulo and Rio.
With regard to energy, the Emirati minister emphasized the strong potential of the Brazilian oil and gas industry, and an eventual cooperation in renewable energies. He mentioned Rio+20, the United Nations conference on sustainable development due in the city of Rio de Janeiro next June, as a forum for this debate.
The two governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on political consultations. “We now have the opportunity to have more frequent and deeper contact regarding bilateral relations, but most of all the whole agenda on peace and international security,” said Patriota.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
