{"id":373942,"date":"2024-09-11T16:41:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T19:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=373942"},"modified":"2024-09-16T12:02:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T15:02:12","slug":"brazilian-fm-sees-new-phase-in-ties-with-gulf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazilian-fm-sees-new-phase-in-ties-with-gulf\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazilian FM sees new phase in ties with Gulf"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Brazil\u2019s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira held a series of meetings with officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries earlier this week and sees the start of a new, more promising phase in his country’s economic relations with the region. The GCC is composed of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates<\/p>\n\n\n
\nMauro Vieira with GCC representatives: Brazil was a special guest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Since last Sunday (8), the foreign minister has been in Oman and Saudi Arabia and is having appointments in the UAE on Wednesday (11). In Saudi capital Riyadh, Mauro Vieira represented the Latin American giant as a special guest at the GCC meeting and had sideline meetings with ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn behalf of Brazil, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the GCC that paves the way for a new and even more promising phase in economic relations with the region. And the GCC, by the nature of its role as a facilitator, is the ideal channel to energize this effort,\u201d Mauro Vieira said in a written exclusive interview with ANBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The foreign minister says that the meeting has opened a new phase of strengthening high-level political dialogue with the GCC and its six member countries. \u201cAlthough Brazil has traditional relations with all of them, this new moment coincides with a completely new economic and social reality, and certainly much more promising,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mauro Vieira says that President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u2019s visits to the region and the mobilizing power of presidential diplomacy allowed the identification of broad business opportunities in various sectors last year. \u201cMy visit to the region aimed to follow up on ongoing contacts between the governments, as well as to reiterate our interest in concluding the trade agreement between Mercosur and the UAE,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister sees his country as having an enviable political position in the region. \u201cThe entire world is competing for spaces, partnerships and opportunities in the Gulf, and Brazil has an enviable political position that needs to be translated into increasingly dense economic relations,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He notes that President Lula is directly engaged in the effort to strengthen ties with Gulf countries, having made bilateral visits to the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia since taking office, in addition to participating in COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vieira says that, during his visits to the region this year, he hear unanimous recognition from interlocutors regarding Brazil\u2019s firm stance since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis and hostage situation in Gaza last October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Private sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The foreign minister draws on the remarks of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Minister of Investments Khalid Al-Falih, with whom he met after the GCC meeting to discuss the relationship between the countries in the region and Brazil. \u201cHe described the recent rapprochement with Brazil as \u2018phenomenal,\u2019 and I fully agree with him, as he has recently been to our country,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nMeeting between Mauro Vieira and Al-Falih: Enthusiasm about ongoing negotiations with Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
According to Vieira\u2019s account of the visit, Minister Al-Falih expressed enthusiasm about ongoing negotiations with the Latin American country in various areas, ranging from food security to logistics, commercial aviation, and defense. \u201cAnd this is closely related to the engagement of the Brazilian private sector, which has been very important,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the foreign minister, the strengthening of political dialogue with the region, prioritized in President Lula\u2019s foreign policy, also paves the way for the private sector to explore the opportunities these markets offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mauro Vieira said that what impressed him most in the high-level contacts in Riyadh was the knowledge of his interlocutors about the Brazilian economy and the major international companies and banks in the country. \u201cThis knowledge is the foundation for what will come in terms of boosting trade and attracting reciprocal investments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After visiting Oman, the minister highlights the presence of Brazilian companies with significant investments in the country, particularly in the food and mining sectors. \u201cThis is quite encouraging,\u201d he says. The foreign minister recounted that he discussed with the Omani Ministry of Agriculture new potential avenues for partnerships, with the complementary nature of the economies creating new opportunities for Brazilian agribusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
United Arab Emirates<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\nOne of the meetings on Wednesday was with the Foreign Minister of the UAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
![\"Mauro](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/golfo-reuniao-brasil-1024x768.jpeg\")
![\"Meeting](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ministro-saudita-mre-1024x683.jpg\")
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