Bethlehem, Palestine – The Palestinians want to do direct business with Brazilian businessmen, without Israeli intermediaries. The matter was discussed last Friday (13th) during meetings that the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, attended in the city of Bethlehem, alongside the vice minister of Tourism at the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Marwan Toubassi, the vice mayor of Bethlehem, George Sa’adeh, and the chairman of the city’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Samir Hazboun.
The actions proposed include the promotion of a mission of Brazilian tourism operators and businessmen to Palestine and the promotion of products from Brazil in the country. “We regard Brazil as an important tourist market,” said Toubassi, who added that for five years now, the Palestinian government participates in the fair of the Brazilian Travel Agency Association (Abav), in Rio de Janeiro.
Schahin underscored that the historical and religious sites in the region are very attractive to Brazilians, and said that he is going to call upon the recently established Tourism Committee at the Arab Brazilian Chamber to help in the promotion efforts.
“We need tourism focused on the Palestinian cities,” declared the vice minister. According to him, many visitors only stay in Bethlehem long enough to see the Church of the Nativity, built at the site in which the Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born, and then return to Israel without spending money in the local hotels, restaurants and stores. We do not want Israel to get all the revenues from tourism,” he added.
Sa’adeh stated, during a meeting at the Bethlehem city hall, that the city is the “Christian capital of the world” and that “cooperation with Brazil is welcome.” Despite the Israeli occupation and the resulting economic problems and displacement of the Palestinians, Bethlehem is a beautiful, clean city, and every day, tourist-packed buses cross the wall and control posts that separate Israel from the West Bank, seeking the attractions of the site.
The ambassador Ligia Maria Scherer, head of the Brazilian representative office, stated that the Brazilian people and government have always supported the Palestinian cause, and that she intends to help in any way she can to make the transit of Brazilians in the occupied territories easier. “We appreciate the role of the Brazilian government,” said Toubassi. In addition to diplomatic support, Brazil has already donated cash and products and offered technical cooperation to Palestinian in various fields.
Agreement
The chairman of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, during a meeting at the organization headquarters, that tourism is the main economic activity in the region, followed by production of marble and other stones, light industries and the services sector, especially banks. Bethlehem has a population of 190,000 and one bank for every 10 people.
He underscored that a cooperation agreement signed with the Arab Brazilian Chamber in 2003 needs to be implemented. “We need to put this agreement to action. I am going to give special attention to Palestine,” said Schahin.
Hazboun stated that it is a good start to promote the “day of Brazilian catalogues” in important cities such as Bethlehem, Nablus and Ramallah. He called on Brazilian companies to send material to the Brazilian representative office, and that the Bethlehem Chamber will organize the events.
According to Hazboun, Palestine already imports large amounts of certain Brazilian products, such as US$ 10 million per year in granites, US$ 2 million in sweets and candy, apart from wooden doors. The Palestinians, however, stated that they want companies from the two countries to negotiate directly, so that the profits will favour the local economy.
The executive added that the Palestine would also like to attract Brazilian investment and highlighted that foreign investment enjoys a “special guarantee,” backed up by institutions such as the World Bank, which is an insurance policy-of-sorts against political instability. Thus, according to him, investors may be compensated in case the region’s instability prevents the deal from coming to fruition.
He also showed Schahin a well organized showroom, at the Chamber headquarters, with goods produced in Palestine, such as clothing, handicraft items, medication, stone artefacts and aluminium products, among others.
The meetings were also attended by the Arab Brazilian Chamber director, Mustapha Abdouni, the councillor to the Brazilian representative office, Ricardo José Leal, and the advisor for Latin America at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PNA, Munjed Saleh.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
