Doha \u2013 The visit that the Brazilian president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva will pay to Qatar tomorrow (14th) and the day after will be an important step in consolidating political and economic relations between Brazil and the Arab country. According to the Brazilian ambassador in Doha, the Qatari capital, \u00c2nuar Nahes, the trip is of utmost importance as \u201cproof of the interest\u201d in bilateral dialogue.<\/p>\n
Nahes reported that in March of last year, at the 2nd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), in Doha, Lula called on the Qatari emir, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, to visit Brazil along with a delegation of businessmen, and stated that he would also take an official trip to the Arab country in the first half of 2010.<\/p>\n
And so it was. Thani travelled to Bras\u00edlia, the Brazilian capital, in January this year, and now Lula is going to return the gesture. According to the ambassador, this type of commitment is deeply appreciated in the Arab nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Arab world, protocol is awarded much more importance than in the West,\u201d he claimed. \u201cThe president\u2019s coming to Qatar, only four months after the emir\u2019s visit to Brazil, is a great display of esteem,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
And Lula\u2019s trip to Doha is taking place at a special moment in the relations between Brazil and the Middle East, as it precedes his visit to Iran. The Iranian nuclear program, a source of tension with the United States and other Western powers, will be an important topic in the president\u2019s talks with the emir.<\/p>\n
According to Nahes, Qatar occupies an outstanding position within the region\u2019s diplomacy, because it is able to combine \u201cskillful foreign policy, the defence of its domestic interests, and the use of its resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called attention to the fact that the country seeks to maintain good relations with its neighbours, does not adopt a policy of supporting them automatically, and invests heavily in the region. Thus being, Lula should listen carefully to what Thani has to say regarding the issue of Iran.<\/p>\n
Business <\/b><\/p>\n
With regard to economy, when Thani went to Bras\u00edlia, he emphasized his country\u2019s interest in investing in Brazil and seeking joint investment opportunities with Brazilian companies in other parts of the world. Proof of that is the fact that Qatar Holding, the executive arm of the Qatari sovereign fund, has signed deals with Previ, the pension fund for Brazilian National Savings Bank employees, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), and mining company Vale.<\/p>\n
One of the trip\u2019s objectives is to make progress in this field, and Lula should arrive in Doha accompanied by 40 Brazilian businessmen from various sectors. On Saturday, a business seminar will be held with support from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/b> and the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA). At the meeting, Qatar Airways, the country\u2019s national airline, will officially announce the inauguration of a daily direct flight between Doha and S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n
\u201cQatar has a strong financial surplus and large sums invested around the world,\u201d said the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Salim Taufic Schahin, who will attend the event. \u201cWe can attract that capital, and the emir has already expressed his interest [in investing in Brazil]. They (the Qataris) are sophisticated investors seeking business opportunities,\u201d he stated. He added that the direct flight will only tend to aid in that search.<\/p>\n
The secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, announced that the organization will sign cooperation agreements with the QBA and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in addition to establishing a bilateral business council.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Brazilian president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva arrives at Doha on this Friday with an economic and political agenda. He will be accompanied by 40 businessmen seeking business opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1454,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-foreign-affairs"},"wps_subtitle":"The Brazilian president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva arrives at Doha on this Friday with an economic and political agenda. He will be accompanied by 40 businessmen seeking business opportunities.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}