Alexandre Rocha*
São Paulo – The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Rahman Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, stated recently, at the seminar opening the Brazil-Arab Countries Business Meeting in São Paulo, the Brazilian financial capital, that it is necessary to take advantage of the path opened in country capital Brasília, by the summit that ended yesterday, to increase trade and partnerships between Brazil and the Arab countries.
"The political and economic balance of the summit was very positive and it is necessary to make use of this historic opportunity to increase trade and partnerships," he said. In this sense, he stated that the part played by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB), which is promoting the event in São Paulo, and of the Chambers in the Arab countries is essential so as to "proceed with the dialogue."
Al-Attiyah made a report of the main themes discussed during the summit and the conclusions reached by the Arab and South American leaders. He pointed out the signing of the framework agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Mercosur, the customs union between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement.
To him, the trade treaty, apart from providing incentives to trade itself, with the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, is going to provide incentives to investment projects in common and create mechanisms to simplify the flow of capitals.
*Translated by Mark Ament
