Cairo – The Egyptian minister of Trade and Industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid, claimed that during his visit to Brazil, last August, he became aware that large Brazilian companies are interested in investing in the Arab country. In an exclusive interview to ANBA, he listed projects being studied by Coteminas, Sadia, Friboi, and Copersucar.
According to the minister, who met with representatives of the companies, Coteminas, in the textile sector, is looking at installing a factory in an area near Alexandria. Food manufacturer Sadia, according to him, is also contemplating establishing industrial units in the country. The JBS-Friboi slaughterhouse, in turn, aims to invest in chilled warehouses and distribution channels. Copersucar, for its part, aims to purchase a 20% stake in a refinery in Suez.
Rachid also mentioned the recently formed joint venture between Marcopolo, a Brazilian bus body maker, and Egyptian automobile manufacturer Ghabbour Auto, for setting up a factory, also in Suez. He has already confirmed his presence in the inauguration.
The minister also asserted that his country is interested in Brazilian technology in the sugarcane area, and that he discussed with Brazilian government officials greater openness in the Egyptian market for products such as beef and chicken meat, as well as making it easier for visas to be issued to tourists. Read below the main stretches of the interview:
ANBA – What is your assessment of the visit you made to Brazil in August?
Rachid Mohamed Rachid – I can say without hesitating that the visit was a huge success. It confirmed what we already knew, namely that a lot can still be done in order to develop relations between Egypt and Brazil. There are many reasons that justify the growth in our trade relations. One of them is the goodwill and good communication that already exists between the two governments, the two entrepreneurial communities and the two peoples. Furthermore, it is no secret that the Brazilian economy is experiencing one of its best moments ever, and its expansion attracts attention everywhere in the world.
As a member of the Egyptian government, I believe that the visit has given us way more than we expected. All of the meetings we had with Brazilian ministers were extremely positive and attested to the goodwill from both sides. I believe I have been with five or six Brazilian ministers: Foreign Relations, Trade, Transport, Agriculture, Energy and the deputy governor of the state of Minas Gerais. Besides, I had an opportunity to meet in São Paulo with several intellectuals and former Brazilian government officials, who helped me to understand and obtain a clear grasp of the potential for collaboration. I sensed that Brazilian businessmen are more dynamic. More than ever, they are geared toward foreign trade, trying to really stand out on the international level.
I believe that we must take advantage of the large number of Brazilians of Arab origin who are very dynamic and can help us communicate. In my opinion, this creates a unique opportunity for promoting closer ties, one that must be seized.
How may commercial, economic and cooperation relations between Egypt and Brazil be developed?
The figures show that our trade has grown visibly over the last few years, and should they grow much further, I do not see any problem with that. I see that there is a high level of complementariness between what Brazil can offer us and what we can offer Brazil.
Specifically which are the existing possibilities?
We have had very fruitful meetings and discussions with the entrepreneurial community in São Paulo and in Minas Gerais. We have been with representatives of companies in specific sectors, such as automobiles and auto parts, and I noticed keen interest from Brazilian companies in exploring investment possibilities in Egypt.
One of the main goals of your visit to Brazil was to attract Brazilian investment into Egypt. What progress has been made in terms of mutual investment and partnerships?
As we all know, there is an important partnership underway between companies Marcopolo, from Brazil, and Ghabbour, from Egypt, in the value of US$ 70 million. A factory is under construction in the city of Suez and should be inaugurated in mid-2009. I have already accepted an invitation to inaugurate it.
During my trip to Brazil, another project was discussed with Coteminas, one of the leading companies in the global cotton industry that is already seeking a space near Alexandria in which to inaugurate its factory and produce right here, in Egypt. I have also been with Brazilian suppliers to Egypt of beef and chicken meat and the good news is that Sadia wants to invest in the country. The company wants to set up some chicken processing plants here. Slaughterhouse Friboi, in turn, which is a large supplier of beef to the Egyptian market, has a project for investing in chilled warehousing and distribution channels in Egypt.
Another Brazilian company with a project for investing in Egypt is Copersucar, which wants to buy a 20% share in an Egyptian refinery in the city of Suez from its current Saudi owners. I also visited the state of Minas Gerais, where I inaugurated the first Egyptian investment in the Brazilian electric cable sector.
What about the area of cooperation? How do you evaluate the results of your visit?
All cooperation possibilities were covered during my visit. We discussed greater cooperation in the sector of agriculture and, for this reason, our minister of Agriculture should visit Brazil to discuss the matter. But that is not all. My visit served as an opener of several doors to cooperation between our countries, including the areas of energy and tourism. For this reason, our ministers of Energy and Tourism should travel to Brazil in the next six months.
And what kind of cooperation project is being considered by both parties?
We are considering cooperation in the technical and technical service areas. We want to develop research in the area of agriculture. We would greatly like to learn, for example, with the Brazilian experience in the area of sugarcane. But we also discussed cooperation in terms of greater opening for imports of Brazilian products like meats and chicken.
How are negotiations for the trade agreement between Egypt and the Mercosur (the economic bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay)?
We are moving at a positive rhythm. We have already got approval of the governments and are about to enter the process of negotiation of details of the agreement, to be discussed by a Mercosur delegation that is going to visit Cairo during the second week of October.
How can the tourist potential between both countries be explored better?
We are trying to encourage a greater flow of tourists between both countries. We have identified a greater number of Brazilian tourists travelling abroad due to the appreciation of the Brazilian real as against the dollar, and many would like to visit Egypt. For this reason, we must create infrastructure to simplify this exchange, which is an area of cooperation that also promises much.
Trade between Brazil and Egypt has been rising in recent years, but the trade balance is still very favourable for Brazil. What should be done in this respect for the situation to improve?
I am not very greatly concerned at trying to level the trade balance. What matters most is increasing trade. That is because, if I am buying more from Brazil, it means that Brazilian products bring some advantage. It does not matter to me whether I am buying from the United States or Canada, what matters are the best conditions for trade and the quality of the products. But, at the same time, we are encouraging our businessmen to learn more about and to explore the conditions offered by the Brazilian market a little better.
To me what is more important is opening the channels that simplify trade, the mutual knowledge and the flow of goods and of people between both countries. For this reason, we should also receive, early next year, the visit of the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil, which will be very important to us.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and Mark Ament
