The Vice President of Brazil, Hamilton Mourão, and the minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt, Nevin Gamea inaugurated the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) office in Cairo, to be the Chamber's second office in the Arab region after the Dubai office.
The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Khaled Hanafy, the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Ibrahim El-Araby, president of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Ambassador Osmar Chohfi, president of the ABCC, the Ambassador Kamal Hassan Ali, assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs of the Arab League, and Antonio Patriota, Brazilian ambassador to Cairo.
Hamilton Mourão, the Brazilian Vice President, announced an agreement with Egypt to establish a direct flight between Cairo and Sao Paulo, as Egypt is one of Brazil's most important partners, not only in the Arab world, but also in Africa. Egypt is also one of the most important partners of the Brazilian economy.
Mourão pointed out that since the signing of the Mercosur agreement, the joint economic and trade relations have been steadily increasing, explaining that "the Brazilian Parliament has approved a set of tax reforms to attract foreign investments."
He added, "We saw a strong will from the political leadership and the Egyptian business community to develop all economic relations, and here comes the importance of the agreement of the General Federation of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce to host the ABCC and the consequent result of that agreement in strengthening joint economic and trade relations."
Nevin Gamea
The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevin Gamea, praised the historical relations between Egypt and Brazil, which is one of the most important and strongest partners in the Latin American continent at the political and economic levels, pointing to the important role of the private sector and business organizations in consolidating the bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields of trade, industry and investment.
Minister Gamea considered that "activating the free trade agreement between Egypt and the Mercosur, which entered into force in September 2017, contributed to the consolidation of trade relations between Egypt and Brazil, especially in light of the Corona pandemic," noting "the importance of activating joint work between Egypt and Brazil and translating it into concrete cooperation projects that contribute to creating job opportunities for youth and achieve urban, industrial, tourism and agricultural goals in both countries, and are in the interest of the Egyptian and Brazilian peoples and economies alike.
Gamea expressed the greeting of the Egyptian government and private sector, headed by FEDCOC, to olaunch a regional office for the ABCC in Cairo, which would play a pivotal role in serving the common interests of Egyptian and Brazilian businessmen, supporting trade cooperation and facilitating the movement of goods and services between the two countries.
Khaled Hanafy
In turn, the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafy, explained that "the volume of trade between Egypt and Brazil is estimated at 2.5 billion dollars, but it does not meet with what the two countries aspire to, because it is based on simple trade exchange in the form of export, import and market entry, while we are seeking today to create a strategic business alliance based on a pivotal scale, the first of which will be in Egypt through the pivotal and industrial areas.”
Hanafy believed that "the main objective of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce opening an office in Cairo is for Egypt to be a springboard for Brazil to other countries by using the tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and modern technological capabilities."
Hanafy considered that "there is room to expand and increase Brazilian-Arab exports, which confirms the need for a direct shipping lane linking those parts of the world," noting that "the UAC, in cooperation with its partners in Brazil, especially the ABCC, will not stop working on building strategic partnership relations between Arabs and Brazilians.
Ibrahim El-Araby
Ibrahim El-Araby, the President of FEDCOC, pointed to the importance of strengthening the economic cooperation between Egypt and Brazil at the bilateral and multilateral levels within the framework of the free trade agreement between Egypt and the Mercosur countries, pointing out that “Brazil will remain a major partner for Egypt in a large number of productive fields and sectors, where joint investments exceed one billion dollars in the fields of cement, buses and trailers, food industries, agriculture and electricity.”
El-Araby noted that "the Egyptian government has supported the large Egyptian market with free trade agreements that allow free access to Egyptian products to markets with a consumption capacity of more than 3.1 billion people, including Arab countries, the European Union, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the African Union (AU), Mercosur, and the United States. Pointing out that the free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries is being finalized.
Osmar Chohfi
Osmar Chohfi, the President of ABCC, emphasized that "the opening of an office for the Chamber in Cairo makes us enter a crucial stage in the internationalization of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to enhance our global presence, which is a vital part of strengthening the Chamber's role through strategic planning."
He pointed out that "the Chamber's office in Cairo will help provide more assistance in terms of economic and technological cooperation between Brazilian and Egyptian businessmen, and will support initiatives led by the governments of Brazil and Egypt to strengthen the relations between the two countries."
Chohfi explained that "Egypt is the first Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Brazil since 1922, and we have a global trade partnership relationship with Egypt, as it enjoys a strategic location that extends between North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa."
