São Paulo – A direct flight connecting the United Arab Emirates to the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina is an aspiration of the Federation of Industries of Santa Catarina State (FIESC). According to its president, Mario Cezar de Aguiar, the state could implement a UAE-Santa Catarina flight through the Arab company Emirates. “We could offer this flight not only for passengers but for cargo too,” Aguiar pointed out during an online debate hosted in the Multimodal Logistics and Business Fair and Congress on Wednesday (4).
Aguiar participated in the roundtable ‘Potential and Opportunities in Bilateral Trade Between Brazil and the United Arab Emirates,’ with the UAE’s ambassador to Brasília, Saleh Alsuwaidi and journalist Cláudio Loetz, and moderated by Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun and featuring its secretary-general Tamer Mansour.
Hannun pointed out that Brazil-UAE relations have become closer over the last years. “Our relations have been strengthened by government visits. President Bolsonaro’s visit was almost a year ago, and things have developed in a constructive way to pave these strategic partnerships since then,” Hannun said, point out the visit from Brazil’s Agriculture minister Tereza Cristina to the UAE as well.
In this trade balance, Aguiar points out Santa Catarina could purchase more from the Arab country. “[The trade with] Santa Catarina has an extremely high surplus. I believe that’s an opportunity to import more from the UAE in order to balance it,” he said.
For Alsuwaidi, this balance occurs when you think about the regions around each country. The ambassador stressed that, as the UAE is a hub for Brazil in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Brazil is a hub for the UAE in Latin America. “I encourage the business community to look at the large market around us. Africa, the Arab countries, India,” Alsuwaidi said, adding that he is interested in having a more in-depth knowledge of the Brazilian South state.
Other possibility is an investment partnership in a third-party country. “We could make joint investments in other Arab countries, for example,” the ambassador finished.
The panel was part of the fair’s Logistique Web Conference, which has seen experts, businesspeople and authorities address key aspects of logistics, multimodal transportation and international trade. Both the conference and the fair are taking place online, with the latter featuring companies and brands, from November 4 to 6.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
