São Paulo – The 3rd Conference of the Business Owners Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (BOU-OIC) ended this Tuesday (17th), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with an address from the chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCI), an international organization of chambers from Muslim countries, Saleh Abdullah Kamel, in which he called on said countries to foster trade, investment, academic exchange, and technological cooperation amongst them.
According to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce CEO, Michel Alaby, who attended the congress, Kamel cited food security as a case in point where multilateral cooperation is required, seeing as it is one of the major issues facing Muslim countries. Kamel called on the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which is associated with the OIC, to make funds available for investment in agriculture.
According to Alaby, a proposal was outlined for a forum on food security, bringing together chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture from the 57 OIC member countries. The goal is to present the existing opportunities in the industry so as to attract investment from countries in the bloc which possess funds.
He said, for instance, that Saudi Arabia’s exports should fetch US$ 320 billion in 2014, considering an average oil price of US$ 100 per barrel, ensuring a fiscal surplus of US$ 78 billion. Some of that money, he said, could go into the Islamic Development Fund, with which the IDB is involved, so as to be invested in infrastructure and anti-poverty projects in Muslim countries. Kamel called on all Arabian Peninsula countries to allocate more cash to the fund, because poverty reduction, he believes, prevents the spread of terrorism.
The executive spoke for increased dialogue between chambers and businessmen from the bloc, aiming to increase the business base, and said governments must make visa issuance easier, as well as conduct studies to create a free trade area for the group. He also stated that the conflicts plaguing Islamic countries are not compatible with religion, but rather are mere power struggles.
The next BOU-OIC conference will take place in 2015 at a yet-to-be-determined location. The Arab Brazilian Chamber attended the event as an observer.
Brazil on the news
Parallel to the congress, the Saudi city is hosting the Jeddah International Trade Fair, a multisectorial business fair scheduled to end this Wednesday (18th). Alaby paid a visit to the venue and gave interviews to local newspapers. The Al Iktsadia daily (Arabic for The Economy) opened a page with the title: “Brazilian enterprises eyeing Saudi infrastructure projects” (free translation).
As per the report, Alaby says Brazil-based companies are interested in the infrastructure and services sectors of Saudi Arabia, whose economy is the region’s largest. He believes the Saudi market is capable of attracting Brazilian investment, and there are local businesses interested in inviting Brazilians to partner up. “The Saudi market is considered one of the region’s most attractive ones,” the newspaper reads.
Alaby noted, however, that the Saudi market needs more openness and international marketing so foreign companies may obtain all of the information they need in order to invest.
Another newspaper which reported on the Brazilian presence was the Saudi Gazette, an English language newspaper from Jeddah. The outlet published a picture of Alaby’s beside the secretary general of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Adnan Mandoura.
Alaby and the Arab Brazilian Chamber Government Relations executive, Tamer Mansour, also attended a meeting with the ICCI deputy secretary general Mohammed El-Banna. They said the two organizations should exchange information in order to strengthen trade and investment relations with Brazil.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
