São Paulo – It is early July that the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, which was born out of the entrepreneurship of businessmen from the Arab colony, emerged and took its first steps toward fostering trade between Brazil and the region. Meetings here and there, contacts with Arab and domestic leaders, missions set up to this and that market, and the Chamber outlined its path to becoming an important basis for relations between the country and the Middle East and North Africa. And it wound up being recognized as such.
The businessman Walid Yazigi, of Syrian origin, accompanied this trajectory from the start. Firstly, when he would hear his father, one of the founders of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, speak about the organization’s tentative first steps at home. Later on, in 1977, already an adult, he became one of the vice presidents. Ever since, few were the years in which he was away from the top ranks of the organization. In the 1981-1982 term, he was the president, and again in 1987-1988 and 1989-1990.
Currently, as trade between Brazil and the Arab world has reached US$ 25 billion per year, Yazigi is chairman of the board. In 1989, the most recent year for which there are electronic export and import information available from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, bilateral trade with the region stood at US$ 4.3 billion. Read below a few stretches of Walid Yazigi’s interview to ANBA on the Arab Brazilian Chamber.
ANBA – What memories do you have from your early years at the Arab Brazilian Chamber?
Walid Yazigi – Well, I have a very strong emotional connection to the Arab Brazilian Chamber because the foundation minutes, drafted 60 years ago, were handwritten by my father (José Nicolau Yazigi, the first secretary general). He was one of the founders. I grew up hearing my father talk about the Arab Brazilian Chamber. In 1977, the then-president, Sylvio Wagih Abdalla, invited me to assume the Chamber’s vice presidency (for Social Affairs).
What was the activity like in the 1970s and 1980s?
When I was inaugurated as president (1981), the Arab Brazilian Chamber occupied one room in the current building. (Now it spans four floors in the building). The Chamber had one employee, part-time, which it shared with the Syrian consulate. When I became the president, I invited Antônio Carlos Portinari Greggio to work for us. He was an economist, a retired Finance Minister official with a deep knowledge of foreign trade and, surprisingly, a scholar in Arab culture. I invited him to be the secretary general, but because he was familiar with Arab culture, he would say: “I can’t because I don’t have an Arab last name.” The Chamber did not have much of a structure. There was only one part-time employee and him, who did not get paid a wage. He was something like Michel Alaby (the current secretary general) of that time, although it was not formally his position. It was he who started transforming the organization into a chamber of commerce, technically speaking.
And which were the main activities during your presidency?
I was chairman of the board on three different occasions. In my first term, shortly before it ended, I promoted a Brazilian business mission to the Arab world. We visited Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. The Arab economy was booming at that time, the oil price skyrocketed. So, the flow of cash into oil producing countries was colossal. And what happened as a result? It was chaos to travel to the region, there were no flights available. So, warned of this issue by Portinari, the Arab Brazilian Chamber chartered a plane and took 31 people. We would arrive, attend meetings and then leave to a different country. We had major Brazilian companies which managed to strike great deals there.
How do you assess the trajectory of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, the importance of its work to Brazilian economy in the years in which you followed it?
The Arab Brazilian Chamber essentially promotes exports of Brazilian products, whereas the other chambers of commerce represent the interests of companies from their original countries which do business in Brazil. This policy garners us much respect and credibility from Brazilian authorities, Arab authorities, and businessmen from both sides. And we do not derive any benefits whatsoever from the transactions. If someone ever receives a gift from some company, they must not remain in the Chamber. However, the Arab Brazilian Chamber does charge a price for its services, of course, such as export documents and certificate issuance.
Do you believe that the Chamber lived up well to its role of fostering trade between Brazil and Arab countries over those years?
Better than its founders ever dreamed of.
How do you view the evolution of our exports to Arab countries, are they more diversified, product-wise? Do they go to a higher number of destinations?
Yes, our exports reach several Arab nations. During the 2008 crisis, by the way, they were not strongly affected. A couple of countries had problems, but the imports of the remaining countries made up for it. We have expanded a lot in the Arab world. The Brazilian businessmen got closer to the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the portfolio of companies which did business with the region started to increase. There is more and more business, which is more and more consolidated, in a greater number of countries. Brazilian businessmen developed much closer ties with Arab businessmen, governments and economies. And the only trades the Arab Brazilian Chamber is not with are oil importing and weapon exporting. It partakes in all the rest.
Is Brazil better known in the Arab world today?
After the 2008 crisis, Brazil’s image was greatly strengthened. Because its economy remained very stable, Brazil was not impacted by the problem much. It joined the BRICs, became much respected, widely known, vastly sought by Arab businessmen, and by Arabs in general.
Does the fact that there are many Arab immigrants and their descendents in Brazil and fact that the Chamber is led by colony members strengthen relations between the two regions?
It helps, but it doesn’t only bring the two regions closer together. It’s a good thing that whenever Arab businessmen come to Brazil, they eat Syrian and Lebanese food here, which is great food, and are welcomed by Arab descendents. Whenever we go to Arab countries, some of the board members speak Arabic. Professor Helmi Nasr (International Relations vice president) is a scholar. Sami Roumieh (Tourism director) was born there. He speaks Arabic well. That’s good. I don’t speak Arabic, but still I have led business missions to Arab countries and we were very well received. But our relations with the region extend beyond those (immigration ties).
Do the embassies play an important role in the Chamber’s work?
Yes, our work is backed by the embassies and that is very important, it is crucial. The embassies provide us with political support and up-to-date information, for instance. Although we do have our direct sources as well, the embassies collaborate with guidance and information. The embassies in Brazil and in the Arab countries are partners with the Chamber’s actions, they are always helping out. From that first mission we promoted to Arab countries, during my first term, the Brazilian embassies gave us wonderful support. We weren’t widely known among local chambers of commerce, so the Brazilian embassies would schedule the meetings for us.
Can you name one or a few milestones in these years at the Chamber? The inception of ANBA (the Brazil-Arab News Agency), for instance, or others…
The creation of ANBA was important because it is a news agency. It carries news free from the distortions seen in international agencies. It brings pure, complete, serious information. Another important moment was the change from Syrian Brazilian Chamber to Arab Brazilian Chamber. At first, it was called the Syrian-Lebanese Brazilian Chamber, but then the Lebanese Brazilian Chamber was established, so we became the Syrian Brazilian Chamber. Then, because the other Arab countries didn’t have a chamber to represent them and there was only a Iraqi Chamber, the Chamber incorporated the Iraqi Chamber to become the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Thus it came to represent all the other Arab countries. The Chamber has evolved continuously. It can’t be said that this or that president was the one who changed the Arab Brazilian Chamber. All of the boards were excellent. None of them became too comfortable. They were all efficient.
How do you regard the future of Brazil-Arab relations?
It is very promising. There is a strong Arab cultural influence in Brazil, including the Portuguese language. There are more than 1,000 words of Arabic origin in our language. The same applies to the culture and habits. I’ll give you a for instance: two sisters of mine went to Switzerland, and in a small Swiss town there was this Brazilian-themed street fair. There was a typically-dressed Bahian woman serving Brazilian food. She was serving kibbeh and sfiha. My sister asked: “Is this Brazilian food?” She said: “Of course.” Here we eat sfiha and kibbeh everywhere, just like we eat pizza. The Brazilian population eats this type of food, and not just those of Arab descent. There is a growing cultural integration between Brazil and the Arab countries, and that helps with the trade as well. We are even translating books by Brazilian writers into Arabic and the other way around. This is one of the reasons for the sustainable growth of the Arab Brazilian Chamber.
So the Arab Brazilian Chamber also plays its role outside of the economic area?
Yes. The Chamber is participating in the medical area, for instance, though still discretely. Doctors from the Syrian Lebanese Hospital were participating in training, along with Syrian doctors, with backing from the Arab Brazilian Chamber. The onset of turmoil in Syria brought it to a halt, however.
Have the protests and changes that some Arab countries are undergoing been reflected on trade?
It is evident that these nations’ economies are going through troubled times, but the trade does continue. Egypt, for instance, is a very large nation, they need to import. Whatever the regime will be that will set in in those countries, they will keep buying from Brazil.
Will the Chamber hold many commemorative actions in this 60th anniversary?
We will release the Postal Service postmark (released on Friday, June 29). The Chamber is issuing a 60th anniversary book, the result of research work made by (historian) Silvia Antibas, going over minute books, archival photographs, an extensive work, but it’s turning out great. We will have social events. There should be a 60-year commemorative formal reception further on. It is important to celebrate, to make this year into a milestone. When the Chamber was established, oil prices were low, and Brazil limited itself to exporting sugar and coffee. It exported a bit to Syria and Lebanon only. Now, Brazil exports everything it can, from aircraft to automobiles. And it essentially imports oil and phosphate. We need to celebrate.
Is there something you would like to see happen in Brazil-Arab relations?
My dream is for ties to continue getting stronger. Brazil and the Arab countries are two economic and cultural powerhouses that can work together. Muslims are a majority in the Arab world, Islam has 1.3 billion followers. So by becoming closer with the Arab countries we will also get deals with non-Arab countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia. We can expand our exports through the Arab countries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
