The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, accompanied by the President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Osmar Shehfa, and the Secretary-General of the Chamber, Tamer Mansour, visited the Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, during which the meeting witnessed a review of aspects of the growing relations between Brazil and the Arab countries.
The delegation handed the Prime Minister an invitation to participate in the work of the Arab-Brazilian Economic Forum to be held in the city of São Paulo on the fourth of next July, under the auspices and presence of the President of the Republic of Brazil. The forum's meetings this year will coincide with the celebration of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce's seventieth anniversary.
Dr. Khaled Hanafi pointed out that "the Brazilian economy ranks seventh in the world, with an economy size of about one trillion and 600 billion dollars, and the volume of foreign trade close to 400 billion dollars." He explained that "Egypt was the third largest trading partner of Brazil in the Arab region, but thanks to the growth of bilateral relations during the past months, Egypt advanced to become the first trading partner of Brazil among Arab countries, with a trade volume of nearly 206 billion dollars."
The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce pointed out that "Brazil is ready to be a starting gateway for Egyptian exports to the South American region, in addition to preparing for the investment presence in Egypt through a Brazilian industrial zone, products in which Brazil excels, such as automotive components, textiles and other industries, are manufactured and exported from Egypt to the rest of the world.”
In turn, President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Osmar Shehfa, expressed the Chamber's aspiration for Egypt to participate in a delegation headed by the Prime Minister in the Arab-Brazilian Economic Forum. In order to build on the positive results witnessed by bilateral relations since the visit of the Vice President of the Republic of Brazil to Egypt last September. He stressed that we are looking forward to upgrading relations with Egypt from the traditional type of commercial relations, to a multi-dimensional economic partnership.
For his part, the Prime Minister praised the recent momentum in Egyptian-Brazilian relations, stressing the government's support for all efforts aimed at raising relations with Brazil to the level of economic partnership, and implementing important proposals related to investment cooperation and the establishment of a Brazilian industrial zone in Egypt. Madbouly welcomed the invitation addressed to Egypt to participate in the work of the Arab-Brazilian Economic Forum, stressing at the same time the importance of working from now towards reaching specific understandings and agreements before the forum was held. In this regard, the Prime Minister directed the formation of a working group comprising officials from the General Investment Authority and the Council of Ministers, to communicate with the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce on cooperation proposals that can be agreed upon during the forum's work.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
