São Paulo – The Federation of Arab-South American Chambers of Commerce, to bring together the Arab chambers of the entire continent, may be officially created in February 2011, during the next Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), to take place in Lima, Peru.
“One of the parts played by the federation should be the stimulation of adhesion of all the South American countries, which should create their chambers of commerce," said on Friday (13) to ANBA ambassador Gilberto Fonseca Guimarães de Moura, head of the Interregional Mechanisms Department at the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty). He visited the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo, in the company of diplomat André Bueno.
They met with the organisation’s secretary general, Michel Alaby. "It is still necessary to agree on some details for the establishment of the federation," said Alaby. The Arab Brazilian Chamber is responsible for coordinating the formation of the continental institution.
According to Moura, up to now the countries that already have Arab chambers of commerce are Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. Peru is going to create its chamber on the 18th. Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay still don’t have chambers, but should receive Aspa support to create them.
“Our priority is to stimulate the creation of chambers in Uruguay and Paraguay due to the Mercosur," said Moura. “Aerial and maritime connections and the sectors of logistics and transportation gain much in regional terms with the creation of the federation," added Bueno.
According to the ambassador, the Aspa does not only work for the organisation of the summits, but also for effective cooperation activities in five sectors: culture, economics, environment, technology and the social area. “They all have approved action plans," he said. “The Aspa works with continued actions, not just presidential meetings every two or three years," he said.
Among the examples of actions supported by Aspa, in Brazil, is the creation of the Bibliaspa, an initiative forecasted since the beginning and which has already guaranteed the publication of several books, as well as the promotion of the South American Arab Culture Festival, which took place from the 18th to the 31st of March, in São Paulo. “The festival brings together cinema, literature, theatre, music, dance, art and should enter the official calendar of the city of São Paulo," said the ambassador.
*Translated by Mark Ament
