São Paulo – Just over three months into his role as Palestine’s ambassador in Brasília, Marwan Jebril told ANBA on Friday (13) that he will work to expand trade between the two countries in the coming years. “I’ll try, at least, to double the level of trade we currently have,” he said.
Jebril visited the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) with former Palestinian ambassador to Brazil Ibrahim Alzeben, who has taken on the position of head of the Arab League Mission in Brasília.
Data from Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, compiled by the ABCC and presented to Jebril, show that last year Brazil exported USD 63.9 million to Palestine and imported USD 158,000, for a total trade flow of USD 64.08 million.
The way to expand trade and increase his country’s sales to Brazil, the diplomat said, lies in agriculture.
“We produce a lot of olives and olive oil and we are exporting them. Many European countries, Canada, and the United States import them, so why not export to Brazil as well? We have some of the best in the world, so we will try. I saw many dates here from different countries, but we will try to bring Palestinian dates,” he said, noting that the free trade agreement his country has with Mercosur is also an opportunity to expand business.
His mission to Brazil, he said, was at his own request. “I asked my foreign ministry to come to Brazil, a country I have always liked and have always regarded as a reference, an important engine not only commercially but also culturally and in sports. In many respects, Brazil for me is number one. And since this is my last posting as ambassador, I asked [to serve in] Brazil and, thank God, I was able to come here,” he said.
He assumed the post at the embassy in Brasília on December 5. On February 3, he presented his credentials to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Jebril said Brazil supports Palestine’s demands for sovereignty and added that the country’s role as an international player has been growing in recent years, which also brings challenges. He highlighted, for example, Brazil’s leadership during its presidency of the BRICS group, as well as the country’s position in international organizations such as the United Nations.
“Brazil is a country that has welcomed refugees and is an example of solidarity, support, and the proper relationship that exists between the two countries,” he said. “Brazil is present and always defends Palestine at the UN—its vote is always in favor of international law, against genocide and ethnic cleansing, and it is a reference for other countries in the region and around the world,” he added.
Jebril recalled that 12 million Arabs and their descendants live in Brazil and that about 100,000 of them are Palestinians or of Palestinian origin. “They are a reference and another reason to continue strengthening this relationship,” he said.
Praising the Brazilian people for their “kindness” and “warmth,” Jebril also noted that Brazilians show solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Jebril and Alzeben are in São Paulo this week. On Friday, they met at the ABCC with its president William Adib Dib Jr., vice president of international relations and secretary-general Mohamad Orra Mourad, vice president of marketing Silvia Antibas, treasurer Mohamad Abdouni Neto, board members Sami Roumieh and William Atui, institutional relations advisor Bassel Latif, and corporate and institutional services coordinator Ana Cristina Silva de Oliveira. The two visitors attended a presentation by Latif on the work of the ABCC and Brazil’s trade relations with Palestine.
Read more:
‘I don’t feel like a foreigner anywhere in Brazil’
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
