São Paulo – Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry acting undersecretary Mohammad Mekhlef Al-Enezi visited the headquarters of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in São Paulo on Wednesday (6) morning. After attending the Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries earlier this week, Al-Enezi met with ABCC president Osmar Chohfi and secretary-general Tamer Mansour. Pictured above, Al-Enezi (R) and Chohfi (L).
The meeting was attended by the Kuwaiti Ministry representatives Ibrahim Khaledi, Ibrahim Attura and Tammy Al Muteri, as well as ABCC Institutional Relations director Fernanda Baltazar and the PR of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Brasília, Mario Neri.
Chohfi presented the history and the work of the ABCC, which has recently turned 70. He pointed out that initially, Brazil was mainly a coffee exporter and the Arab countries exported mostly oil, and throughout the decades they have extended their trade ties to other products, but there are still room for diversifying trade.
“Kuwait has investments in Brazil, which is something that can be talked, and there are good prospects for new investments. We’ll try to find Brazilian goods that are competitive in your market and Kuwaiti goods that are competitive in Brazil,” Chohfi said, making the ABCC available to help in any way it can.
Al-Enezi said that he was delighted to visit the entity and see firsthand the intense work that is being done. “Our visit is very important as it follows the visit of the secretary [of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil] Flávio Rocha to Kuwait, whose main subject on the agenda was food security,” the undersecretary said.
He reaffirmed the strong relation that Kuwait has had with Brazil since the 60s and suggested ways to take this relation further. “Since our country’s foundation [in 1961] Kuwait has had a very healthy relation with Brazil. Above all we want to strengthen trade, as the figures we have today do not represent the full potential of this long-standing relation, and we want to explore other areas of exchange in research, education and science,” he said.
Around 60% of the poultry consumed in Kuwait comes from Brazil, the undersecretary said, suggesting that the trade should be diversified beyond poultry. He indicated an interest in increasing purchases of live cattle exports. He suggested still that a trade mission of Kuwaiti businesspeople could come to Brazil in September.
For Al-Enezi, trade is very important, but it’s not everything. “We should also deepen the relations between our peoples, and we could rememorate the visit of Santos [Football Club] and Pelé to our country,” he said.
At the end of the meeting the acting undersecretary handed a present to ambassador Osmar Chohfi, a boat carved in Kuwait, the symbol of the country that represents its history in sea trade. “It’s also a symbol that our relation will be a success,” Al-Enezi said.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
