São Paulo – Businessman Marcelo Sallum took office on Thursday, 22, as chairman of the Policy Council of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC). Sallum, who had presided over the ABCC from 2013 to 2016, took over from Walid Yazigi, who left the position he had held since 2009.
Sallum is joined by businessman Antonio Sarkis Jr as vice president and attorney Fabio Kadi as secretary. “We are fully aware that succeeding our dear friend Dr. Yazigi will not be an easy task, and we will certainly never fully replace him,” said Sallum during the installation ceremony. The council is tasked with providing guidance and poring over strategic issues of the ABCC.
An engineer and a construction entrepreneur, Yazigi is one of the best-known names of the ABCC and has actively worked to develop the institution and its reputation. He has participated in the ABCC since 1966, including stints as president and Policy Council chair. Walid’s father, José Yazigi, was one of the institution’s founders.
Upon taking office, Sallum looked back on the ABCC’s history since its foundation in the 50s from its first headquarters, loaned by Mineração Geral do Brasil, to the current one, launched in 2017 and purchased during during Sallum’s administration, and the opening of the international office in Dubai in early 2019.
“It has been 69 years of hard work, huge challenges and remarkable results achieved,” Sallum said, pointing out that the outcome has been the international recognition of the institution as a gateway for Brazilian companies into the Arab market and Arab companies into the Brazilian market.
The meeting also saw the inauguration of the ABCC’s new president, diplomat Osmar Chohfi. Businessman Rubens Hannun left the position he’d held for two two-year terms. Chohfi had been vice president of Foreign Affairs of the ABCC since 2015 and joined the organization at Sallum’s invitation.
“I cannot thank you enough for accepting this challenge. I’m sure the ABCC is in excellent hands,” said Sallum, before expressing his gratitude for the work carried out by Hannun. The Council’s vice president, Sarkis, also praised Chohfi and thanked Hannun for his administration, stressing that adversities have been overcome with “magnitude, ease and intelligence.”
Yazigi was honored by the other leaders of the organization and announced the launch of his book Presença árabe no Brasil [Arab Presence in Brazil], in which he discusses the Arab community in Brazil and presents data from the survey carried out by research firms H2R Pesquisas Avançadas and Ibope Inteligência, under commissioning from the ABCC. The survey showed that there are 11.6 million Arabs and descendants in Brazil. Authorities such as the dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil and Palestine’s ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben attended the inauguration.
Here’s more on the event:
Rubens Hannun bids farewell to ABCC presidency
Authorities attend installation of new ABCC board
Osmar Chohfi becomes president of Arab Brazilian Chamber
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
