Amman – The Foreign Minister of Jordan, Nasser Judeh, said on Saturday (07), during a meeting with Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president, Salim Taufic Schahin, in Amman, that his country has the necessary stability for foreign investment.
“A country may have economic stability, prosperity, potential, but it is not possible to buy economic stability, which is what we have here,” said the Foreign Minister. “We have no more than friends in the world,” he added.
He pointed out that Jordan may serve as a route of access, for Brazilian businessmen, to other markets in the region that are not in the same situation, especially Iraq.
He, like Schahin, recalled the visit of the Jordanian king Abdullah II to Brazil last year, considered greatly successful, and pointed out the good level of diplomatic relations between both countries. “We are going to build on top of it and to see what we can do together,” pointed out Judeh.
Schahin added that the government of Brazil “has political will” to expand relations with the Middle East and added that the Arab Brazilian Chamber is interested in aiding in the expansion of bilateral trade and investment.
Tourism
The president at the organisation also spoke about soap opera Viver a Vida, (Living Life) by Globo TV, part of which is set in Jordan, helping make the country more popular among Brazilian audiences, especially the historic site of Petra. To him, this should help expand the number of Brazilian tourists. Another attraction is religious tourism.
Judeh joked that many times a little exhibition in a mass communication vehicle is more efficient that government actions. He recalled the example of movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989, which also had scenes shot in Petra. “That attracted one million tourists,” he said.
Peace
Schahin also recalled that the government of Brazil is interested in participating actively in peace talks between Israel and Palestine, nations that have borders with Jordan. The minister stated that president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “is greatly respected in the region”.
The meeting also included Arab Brazilian Chamber secretary general Michel Alaby, director Mustapha Abdouni, the ambassador of Jordan to Brazil, Ramez Goussous, and Nour Al Hmoud, of the Investment Promotion Department at the Jordan Investment Board (JIB). She made a short presentation about the policy for fostering foreign investment in the country.
Next week, Schahin and representatives of Brazilian companies should have meetings with local business and Jordanian government leaders, including king Abdullah II.
*Translated by Mark Ament
