São Paulo – Representatives of Arab chambers of commerce in South America signed Tuesday (5) a letter of intent to work together for the development of these institutions. The group met at the headquarters of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) one day after its Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries and in the presence of the Union of Arab Chambers secretary-general Khaled Hanafy. Pictured above, leaders of the entities after signing.
The letter declares the intent to increase the rapprochement between the chambers for the benefit of the economic and trade relations between Arab and South American countries, create contacts of common interest and joint activities in the chambers’ areas of expertise, hold seminars and meetings in the interests of the Arab-South American relations, and carry out joint market studies.
The document also declares the entities’ intent to hold discussions with authorities of their countries and the Arab countries to facilitate and boost Arab-South American trade, cooperate in the capacity-building and strengthening of their institutional frameworks and human resources, and perform other bilateral or multilateral cooperation and coordination activities deemed appropriate
The group discussed a multi-step work agenda in order to put the rapprochement into motion with activities to be held later this year. Presented by ABCC Institutional Relations director Fernanda Baltazar, the agenda received suggestions and is expected to include regular meetings of the group.
In addition to Hanafy, ABCC president Osmar Chohfi and secretary-general Tamer Mansour, Arab Colombian Chamber of Commerce president Cecilia Porras, Arab Peruvian Chamber of Commerce president Hamed Abou Zahr, and Chilearab Consulting executive director Jorge Daccarett attended the meeting in person.
Arab Paraguayan Chamber of Commerce and Industry head Salem Ismail, Arab Argentine Chamber of Commerce secretary-general Walid Al Kaddour and other representatives and executives of the entities involved attended, too. Arab Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce CEO Martín Couñago participated on-line.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
