São Paulo – Uruguay is going to take a delegation of ten businessmen to the business meeting to take place next Sunday (29th) and Monday (30th), in Doha, Qatar, before the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa). “We are going to go with the intention of closing lots of deals,” says the secretary general at the Uruguay-Qatar Bi-National Chamber of Commerce, Sebastián Arágor. In addition to the businessmen, also in attendance at the forum will be the vice president of the organisation, Pedro Nicolas Baridón, its chairman, Julio Lacarte Muro, and Arágor.
According to the secretary general, the businessmen are from services sectors, particularly foreign trade, engineering, agribusiness, juridical studies, forestry products, energy and tourism. The South American country is a large exporter of services and has 30% of its foreign sales linked to the sector. The Uruguayans export technology, logistics, tourism, and self-employed workers’ services, among others. They sell agribusiness products such as wool, leathers, dairy products, meats and grain to foreign countries.
The Arabs, however, are not yet large clients of Uruguay. In 2008, for example, the South American country posted revenues of US$ 131 million from exports to the Arab market. The main products shipped were meats, livestock (cattle), milk and dairy products, in addition to grain. Even though the figure is not very significant, there was an increase of 17% in sales over the previous year. The Arab country that bought the most Uruguayan products was Egypt, followed by Jordan, Algeria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Sales to the Arab world pale in comparison with overall Uruguayan exports, which last year totalled to approximately US$ 6 billion. It was a record-high figure for the country, but the forecast for this year, according to Arágor, is of a decrease as a result of the international economic crisis. “This is why we want to enter new markets, following the example of Brazil, which already has a strong presence in the Arab countries,” claims the secretary general. He believes that his country has potential for exporting engineering, agribusiness and forestry services to the region.
Arágor asserts that the relations of Uruguay with the Arabs have grown since the president of the country, Tabaré Vázquez, made a trip, accompanied by a business delegation, to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, in 2007. Afterwards, three months ago, Uruguay opened an embassy in Doha. Representatives of the Qatari government also visited Uruguay, and the Uruguay-Qatar Bi-National Chamber of Commerce was established. Many initiatives, among them the creation of the Chamber, were encouraged by the Uruguay National Chamber of Commerce and Services.
The Uruguayan government will be represented at Aspa by its vice president, Nin Novoa, and the undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Pedro Vaz Ramela. The Uruguayan ambassador to Doha, Juan Pacheco, will also attend the summit. The country has 3.4 million inhabitants and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 31.3 billion. A major share of the GDP, of around 60%, is linked to the services sector. Tourism is one of the services sector’s boosters and has great importance to the local economy.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
