São Paulo – Today (22nd), in the Brazilian capital Brasília, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will receive the Kuwaiti prime minister, Nasser Al-Sabah, who is on a trip to Brazil alongside a delegation of authorities and private sector representatives from the Arab country. According to information supplied by the Brazilian foreign ministry (Itamaraty), the visit is the first of its kind.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations informed that Lula and Sabah should discuss the political situation in the Middle East and the international financial crisis. The meeting precedes a trip of the Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim to countries in the region, such as Syria, Palestine, Israel and Turkey.
The two governments should sign air services and sports cooperation agreements. According to the Itamaraty, bilateral treaties have been signed by the countries in the past for political consultation, cooperation, and culture.
Sabah is accompanied by the Kuwaiti ministers of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Al-Sabah, of Finance, Mustafa Al-Shamali, and of Industry and Trade, Ahmad Al-Haroon; the managing director of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), which is the country’s sovereign fund, Bader Al-Saad; the director general of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, which funds projects in developing countries, Abdulwahab Al-Bader; the director of the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sayer Bader Al-Sayer, the vice president of the Kuwaiti Banking Association, Majed Al-Ajeel, and other authorities and businessmen.
The delegation is taking a tour of Latin America that should include eight other countries: Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Guiana, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and Cuba.
Business
Yesterday in São Paulo, the prime minister met with the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, and the organization’s vice president, professor Helmi Nasr. According to Nasr, the prime minister gave much praise to the Brazilian government and the Brazilian people. The professor claimed that Sabah was surprised to learn that approximately 12 million people of Arab origin live in Brazil.
According to Nasr, the prime minister claimed that many Kuwaiti businessmen are interested in investing in Brazil and expanding bilateral business. He said that Brazil tends to become an economic power, and that relations between the two countries will be strengthened.
According to the Itamaraty, Kuwait is one of the world’s leading sources of foreign direct investment, however its inflow to Brazil “is below the average of the country’s assets in other parts of the world.” According to the ministry, “this attests to the importance of promoting mutual knowledge and broadening the scope of bilateral economic-commercial cooperation.”
Exports from Brazil to Kuwait generated revenues of US$ 115.5 million in the first half this year, representing growth of 5% over the same period last year, according to data supplied by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The main items shipped were chicken, beef, processed meat, soy oil, and aluminium sheets.
On the other hand, Brazil imported the equivalent of US$ 79.2 million from the Arab country, as against virtually inexistent imports in the first six months last year. The main products shipped were aviation fuel and petrochemicals, according to the ministry.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
