São Paulo – Anuar Nahes spent the last four years as ambassador of Brazil to Doha, the capital of Qatar. When adding the other functions he occupied, it has been over 14 years dedicated to the country in the Arab world, half in diplomatic careers. Such experience will be essential to his next challenge: heading the Brazilian embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
The invitation came in the first half of this year and did not need repetition. Nahes does not only have the Middle East in his curriculum, but also in his blood, as he is a grandson of Syrians, identifiable by his name. His grandfather on his father’s side came to Brazil in 1902, first working as a travelling salesman and then as a farmer. From his immigrant forefathers he inherited the taste for exploratory trips.
“My father was always an adventurer, in the positive sense of the word, travelling much, occasionally almost dying,” said the diplomat. “Therefore, from an early age, I started appreciating that, which is natural to the descendants of immigrants,” he added.
As a diplomat, Nahes has already served in the Brazilian delegation to the UN, in New York, in the embassies of Caracas, Paris, Damascus and Tunis, and has also been the head of the Near East Division at the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty) and participated in the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), later being responsible for follow-up activities after the meeting.
He will now be responsible for reopening an embassy that has been closed for two decades, since the Gulf War, in a country that has been the backdrop for episodes of extreme violence. How about fear? “Fear? None at all,” he answered. “I will take the necessary precautions. You acquire fear. Children, for example, do not fear, they must learn to fear,” he added.
Graduated in Literature and Pedagogy, a former musician and former Portuguese professor, Nahes mentions author Guimarães Rosa when talking about risk: “Living is very dangerous.’ As examples, he mentions how his father survived all his trips, but dropped dead at home, on opening the refrigerator.
In Baghdad
The diplomat should arrive in Iraq in early 2012, having been called on to establish himself in Baghdad soon. For safety purposes, the Brazilian representation is still in Amman, in the neighbouring Jordan. Nahes plans to spend just a few days in the Jordanian capital, to deal with administrative matters.
On arriving in the Iraqi capital, however, the new ambassador will not have to start from scratch. The current ambassador, Bernardo de Azevedo Brito, should leave much prepared. Although residing in Amman, Brito has been to Baghdad several times and also to several other parts of Iraq. Nahas should find the structure for the embassy ready for use, with real estate, safety and logistics. It is not the same place that was used by Brazil up to the Gulf War, but something completely new.
Furthermore, Brito made many contacts in recent years and leaves precious intelligence for his successor about who is who in the country as well as areas for potential cooperation and diplomatic exchange. “He developed excellent work,” said Nahes.
With Brito’s information in hand, Nahes has scheduled a series of meetings with companies, sectorial organisations and Brazilian public organisations that may be important in the future. He believes that there are opportunities for technical cooperation in areas like training of small companies, family farming and job generation, and to foster trade in sectors like meats, machinery and equipment, medical products and oil.
Exchange
His first task will be to continue mapping the political operation in Iraq, to see how the local society is organized. “Brazil will have to relearn how to represent itself in a country that has changed structurally in recent years,” said Nahes.
As soon as possible, he aims to identify the common interests of both nations, aiming at “returning to a partnership that was very important in the 1970s and 1980s,” when Iraq was even one of Brazil’s main trade partners. Regarding his expectations, Nahes said he hopes for the Arab country to become peaceful and to remain a federal and democratic state.
He also added that there are successful Brazilian social programs that may be applied to other developing nations. This may be a route for cooperation. “To show that Brazil did it and that it worked out. This is a good channel for human relations, as it is not just selling products,” he pointed out.
In the country, the diplomat believes that existence of an embassy should simplify the transit of people between both countries and, consequently, foster business. “Iraq is a rich country, but needs to rebuild itself, and Brazil may participate in this process,” he said. “Brazil has a great asset in Iraq; it left a good name, a good way of working. It left products, works and quality services.”
As an example, he mentioned bilateral trade in 2010, which exceeded US$ 1 billion “on inertia alone”. “Imagine with actions [for promotion] on both directions,” he pointed out.
*Translated by Mark Ament
