![\"\"](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/missao-saudi-7-ministerio.jpeg\")
<\/a>F\u00e1varo was welcomed by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Environment, Water and Agriculture minister Abdulrahman Al Fadley, and they talked about establishing a working group aimed at organizing and implementing a joint partnership in agriculture, livestock, and agricultural inputs. Pictured above, in the opening photo, the two ministers.<\/em><\/p>\n Brazil\u2019s Agriculture Minister is leading the initiative that intends to become the world\u2019s largest sustainable food production program by recovering degraded grazing lands and doubling Brazil\u2019s food output without deforestation. The Saudi minister said his ministry will work for bringing the Saudi private sector into the initiative.<\/p>\n F\u00e1varo was also welcomed at Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC), which confirmed its interest in joining the program. The minister met with SALIC acting CEO Mohammed bin Mansour Al-Mousa. They agreed the company will establish and led a second group to continue the talks in the private sector and identify Saudi companies interested in the program.<\/p>\n The project designed by Brazil\u2019s Agriculture Ministry envisages the recovery and conversion of up to 40 million hectares of grazing land in Brazil, which could potentially double the country\u2019s production area without deforestation, thus contributing for the world\u2019s food security, as well as the climate change control by cutting carbon emissions. F\u00e1varo was also received at oil firm Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).<\/p>\n The minister was accompanied in his meetings by Brazil\u2019s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, S\u00e9rgio Bath. \u201cThe main goal of the mission was to present Brazil\u2019s degraded grazing land recovery program to Saudis,\u201d he said. He highlighted the significant delegation that accompanied the minister, with officials of Brazil\u2019s Agriculture Minister, Foreign Affairs Ministry, agricultural research agency Embrapa, state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil, and state development bank BNDES, senators Rog\u00e9rio Carvalho and Iraj\u00e1 Silvestre, and businesspeople.<\/p>\n Businesspeople from Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n The private sector officials participating in the delegation had appointments in Saudi Arabia that were focused on business connections. They participated in a breakfast held by the ABCC and ApexBrasil at Brazil\u2019s Embassy in Riyadh, which was also attended by a Saudi free zone and saw talks on agribusiness and investments. The party was welcomed by the embassy\u2019s minister counsellor Rubem Amaral.<\/p>\n The business delegation also had a meeting with King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) president Fahad Alajlan, where they discussed sustainable agribusiness, biofuels and\u00a0 the United Nations COP28 climate summit to take place later this year in the United Arab Emirates. The head of the Foreign Ministry\u2019s Agricultural Policy Division, Bruno Leite, participated.<\/p>\n \u201cThis business mission allowed businesspeople to discover the opportunities, ways to connect to this market, the Saudi market\u2019s needs and desire for Brazilian goods. ApexBrasil is designing a robust plan of how to access and develop more initiatives to further tap into this market together with the private sector and relevant partners in the region like the ABCC,\u201d said Tatiana Riera, CEO of ApexBrasil\u2019s Dubai office for the Middle East, North Africa, and India.<\/p>\n The head of the ABCC office in Dubai, Rafael Solimeo, participated in the meetings. \u201cSaudi Arabia is the Arab world\u2019s largest economy, accounting for 25% of the region\u2019s gross domestic product. In 2022 Brazil exported nearly USD 3 billion worth of goods to Saudis, mostly from agribusiness. It makes a lot of sense that this mission has come to talk to this major client of Brazil that\u2019s Saudi Arabia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Both Solimeo and Riera highlighted the time when the mission is taking place, on the same days that a Saudi delegation led by the Arab country\u2019s Investment minister Khalid Al Falih is in Brazil with a large corporate party. \u201cThey\u2019re in Brazil seeking to invest and attract investments, and we\u2019re in Saudi Arabia at the same time, also seeking to invest and attract investments,\u201d said Solimeo.<\/p>\n After Saudi Arabia, the delegation will move on this week to the UAE. The visit to the two Middle Eastern countries is part of a broader mission of Brazil\u2019s Agriculture Ministry that has also included South Korea and Japan. The ministry has held a series of appointments for promoting Brazil\u2019s intensified production aiming to attract foreign investments.<\/p>\n Translated by Guilherme Miranda <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>