São Paulo – This Wednesday (27th), former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Mauritanian ambassador in Brazil, Abdellahi Bah Nagi Kebd, discussed a trip for Brazilian business executives to see investment opportunities in the North African country. They convened at the Instituto Lula headquarters in São Paulo.
“We had a very productive conversation. We went over Brazil-Mauritania relations, which are excellent, and Brazil’s activities in Africa. We also addressed issues of the Arab world, including Palestine, and of the Arab African countries. The former president expressed his intention of finding partners to invest in Mauritania, and we also intend to organize a business trip from Brazil to Mauritania,” the ambassador told ANBA after the meeting.
Kebd said the trip hinges on the schedules of potential guest entrepreneurs and of the former Brazilian president, and on the participation of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. “I hope it will happen in the next few months,” the diplomat said. Potential investment targets in Mauritania include oil and gas, mining and foodstuffs, particularly beef and poultry, Kebd said.
Africa
Kebd arrived in São Paulo last Tuesday (26th) for the fifth edition of the debate series “Conversations about Africa,” sponsored by Instituto Lula. The main guest was former minister Celso Amorim, who served as foreign minister during the Lula administration and as Defense minister in Dilma Rousseff’s first term.
During his two terms as president, from 2003 to 2010, Lula visited several Arab and African countries and fostered stronger ties between them and Brazil. During this time, trade thrived. Even after leaving the presidency, Lula kept meeting with officials and taking trips to Africa. Besides Kebd, the former president met with the ambassador of Guinea-Bissau in Brazil, Eugênia Pereira Saldanha Araujo.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
