Rio de Janeiro – The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral Filho, discussed yesterday (13th) with the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil, the possibility of the state having a direct flight from an Arab country. "We dream of one day having, as soon as possible, a direct flight from the Arab world to the city of Rio de Janeiro," stated Cabral during the visit of the ambassadors to Laranjeiras Palace, the official residence of the governor.
According to him, the direct flight is a means for establishing closer ties between the state and the Arab world and enabling greater accessibility so that business can flow better. "To us, an extremely rich field with huge potential is opening up," he said. The governor also told the ambassadors that Rio de Janeiro produces 82% of all Brazilian oil, and that the state may diversify its relations with the Arab countries in this sector as well.
"We discussed exchanging experience and know-how in the fields of oil and gas. We will see how we may be of assistance to the state," said the dean of the Arab ambassadors, Waleed Al Kandari, who is also the ambassador of Kuwait. According to him, the meetings held in Rio de Janeiro were positive and require follow-through in order to yield results.
Regarding the creation of a direct flight, Al Kandari said that it would be very interesting, because after the direct Dubai-São Paulo flight, by Emirates, Brazilians began to discover more of the Arab world and vice versa. This coming together, according to the ambassador, is also a result of the growing number of meetings between governments and businessmen from South America and the Arab countries. "In the past, everything boiled down to increasing trade between the two regions. Now, relations have improved not only in the commercial field, but also in the social, cultural and political spheres," he declared.
According to the secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, who attended the meeting along with the governor, Cabral intends to take a trip to the Middle East in the first half of 2010, in partnership with the city hall. The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Salim Schahin, placed the organisation at the governor’s disposal to help organise the trip.
Globo TV network
Wrapping up the schedule of the ambassadors’ visit to Rio de Janeiro, they went to Project Jacarepaguá (Projac), owned by the Globo TV. In Rio de Janeiro, Globo has 10 studios for shooting soap operas, miniseries, talk shows and interviews. In total, the Globo Network employs 23,000 people, 5,000 of them in Projac alone.
The soap operas produced by Globo have already been broadcast to over 100 countries, including Arab ones. Besides broadcasting, the television network usually records footage in several countries, such as the United States, Greece and India. Currently, the network’s most successful soap opera, "Caminho das Índias" (Route to the Indies), includes scenes in India and even in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
During the visit to the Globo studios, the ambassadors were impressed with the stage settings put together by the network, which are identical reproductions of Indian cities. At the time of the visit, a scene was being shot for the soap opera, and the ambassadors were able to see and sense the network’s concern not only with the settings, but also with the costumes, which are manufactured at Globo Network’s own factories.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
