Brasília – Qatar intends to invest US$ 60 billion in infrastructure and wants to attract Brazilian companies to projects in the sector. The matter was discussed today (20th) by government officials and company representatives of the two countries during the visit of the Qatari emir, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, to Brasília (the Brazilian capital).
The investment will be allocated to areas such as railways, roads, sanitation, gas, refining, petrochemicals and steel industry. “We have several opportunities for Brazilian companies to invest in various sectors in Qatar,” said the emir during a luncheon hosted by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the Brazilian foreign office (Itamaraty).
The state-owned Qatar Holding signed memorandums of understanding with mining company Vale, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and Previ, the pension fund for employees of the Bank of Brazil, with the objective of prospecting for joint investment in Brazil and abroad.
The interest of the Qataris, though, extends beyond those companies. The Arab country’s government wants to attract engineering and building enterprises, for instance. The luncheon was attended by large real estate developers such as Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez, which already have important enterprises underway in the Arab world, as well as bankers such as Pedro Moreira Salles, president of the Itaú-Unibanco Board of Directors.
The president of the BNDES, Luciano Coutinho, who attended a meeting with the Qataris, stated that the bank may finance the exports of services supplied by Brazilian companies, as well as sales of material, machinery and equipment. He claimed that the BNDES has been invited to send a mission to the Arab country to get to know the existing projects.
During luncheon, Lula said that he intends to visit Qatar before the end of the first half, alongside the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge. Lula has already been to the country last year to attend the 2nd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa). In his address, the president underscored that Qatar is open to the participation of foreign companies “in ambitious infrastructure projects in fields that our companies are competitive in.”
Dialogue
Lula stated that trade relations aside, Brazil and Qatar have common interests in international matters, such as humanitarian aid, dialogue between cultures and the search for peace in the Middle East. The president underscored the emir’s role in enabling dialogue between opposite sides in conflicts in the region.
Al Thani, in turn, praised the Brazilian quest for a more active role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and claimed that Qatar supports the humanitarian efforts of Brazil.
Haiti
Later on, the Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim stated that the emir is willing to cooperate with the efforts for rebuilding Haiti, a Caribbean country that was devastated by an earthquake last week, and that he wants to do so through Brazil.
Today, Haiti was quaked by quakes again and president Lula discussed the subject with the United Nations (UN) secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, in a telephone call in the afternoon.
According to Amorim, Brazil is capable of sending another 750 soldiers and 150 policemen as reinforcements to the UN peace mission operating in the country since 2004, headed by Brazil itself. Presently, the Brazilian Armed Forces have 1,200 men in Haiti. This week, Ban called for the increase of the peace troops in order to ensure the country’s security after the quake.
The foreign minister also stated that Brazil may extend its donations of funds to exceed the US$ 15 million that have already been announced.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
