The fourth edition of the Arab-Brazil Economic Forum was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, organized by the Arab Brazilian Chambers of Commerce in cooperation with the Union of Arab Chambers and the League of Arab States, under the title "Heritage and Innovation". This year's forum, which coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Chamber, shed light on the future of the Arab-Brazilian partnership.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gave a virtual speech at the opening of the forum, where he stressed that Brazilian-Arab relations have strengthened in the current global scene, pointing out that the Arab world is now the third largest international market for Brazil, and the trade flow reached a new record of $24 billion last year.
Bolsonaro explained that 26 percent of the fertilizers that supply agricultural businesses in Brazil come from the Arab world, noting that last year, Algeria was Brazil's leading trading partner, Egypt was the first destination for exports from Brazil, and Morocco was Brazil's first supplier. He revealed that the volume of investments from Arab funds in Brazil is close to 20 billion dollars, considering that Arab funds have become a major source of capital for our country. Bolsonaro said that the government intends to enter into agreements with Arab countries that facilitate investment and avoid double taxation, in addition to agreements through Mercosur, as the results achieved by Mercosur and Egypt inspire other initiatives such as the negotiations that began with the UAE.
For his part, President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Osmar Shehafi, pointed out that the Corona pandemic and the conflict in Eastern Europe reshaped global trade, pointing out that reciprocity and cooperation are among the new pillars of international relations. He stressed that "the experiences that all countries of the world have gone through since the pandemic and then the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war have shown that global trade must be based on very solid foundations of rapprochement, reciprocity, cooperation and technology." Al- Shehafi noted that the Arab-Brazilian Chamber was able to precede this transformation process by establishing the first blockchain-based customs clearance system between Brazil and Arab countries, pointing out that "our customs clearance unit, which is now integrated with the Ellos platform, it allows us to validate shipping documents in a completely digital and paperless way in a previously unimaginable two-day time frame.”
He indicated that North African markets are now a major destination for Brazilian agricultural businesses, and that Brazil plays an important role in the food security of 420 million Arabs. On the other hand, the Arab countries contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of Brazil by ensuring the supply of hydrocarbons and some fertilizers that our agricultural business requires. The Brazilian-Arab trade reached $24 billion last year and is growing year after year towards a more balanced relationship between the two sides. Al- Shehafi pointed out “that goods with a high added value are increasing significantly in terms of trade. As it benefited from the implementation of free trade agreements such as the Mercosur Agreement with Egypt, hence, more agreements of this kind are necessary. In this forum, we can look at how to overcome obstacles to discussions towards entering into new free trade agreements between Brazil and the Arab countries.”
In turn, the President of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the First Vice-President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber, Samir Abdullah Nass, affirmed, “On the importance of establishing a direct navigation corridor between Brazil and the Arab countries in a way that contributes to expanding the horizons of strategic partnership and diversifying the development of the volume of trade exchanges between the two sides, in addition to its role in motivating and supporting suppliers of small and medium enterprises with a direct transport system that advances the Arab-Brazilian trade relationship to broader horizons at all levels.”
He said that the economic conditions and challenges that the world has experienced during the past two years in the areas of health, the impact of supply chains, the increase in economic inflation rates and the effects of climate change push us to turn challenges into opportunities, by building an economic system compatible with modern developments. Noting the importance of the digital economy, as it represents the economic language of the future, praising at the same time the great progress in trade relations between Arab countries and Brazil through promising sectors that we can invest in despite all challenges.
The Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ambassador Hossam Zaki, stressed the importance of strengthening Arab-Brazilian cooperation, calling on Brazilian investors to invest in the Arab region and take advantage of the opportunities and advantages offered by the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone.
In his speech, Zaki pointed out the importance of the topics discussed by the forum, especially the developments of the global economic situation and the extrapolation of its future, and ways to strengthen Arab-Brazilian relations. Noting the remarkable increase in economic exchange between the two sides last year; Where it exceeded 24 billion dollars. He explained that the Arab-Brazilian relations include, in addition to the economic aspect, files of political cooperation and Arab-South American cooperation, praising the efforts made by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to consolidate relations between Brazil and the Arab world.
In a virtual speech, Palestinian Economy Minister Khaled Al-Osaili praised Brazil's economic and development role, and its efforts to complete the procedures for ratifying the Mercosur Agreement and its entry into force, expressing his appreciation for the distinguished efforts of the Arab and Brazilian Chambers of Commerce to sustain the launch of the forum's work. He stressed that the current transformations call for the creation of new job opportunities, in order to support sustainability, including working to include value-added products, higher levels of technology and support for logistics services. He referred to the aspects of the reform program implemented by the Palestinian government in terms of modernizing and developing the legislative environment regulating the national economy and developing the business and investment environment. Al-Osaili reviewed the investment opportunities available in Palestine and the areas of cooperation in various productive sectors, especially the plastic industry, clothing, textiles, furniture, the handicraft heritage industry, and the success experiences of Palestinian companies and their visits.
The opening session also witnessed virtual speeches by a number of Arab and Brazilian ministers, namely: Carlos Franca - Minister of Foreign Relations of Brazil, Riad Mazur - Minister of Industry and Trade of the Kingdom of Morocco, Youssef Mahmoud Al-Shamali - Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Marcos Montes - Minister of Agriculture of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Maryam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi - Minister of Climate Change and Environment in the United Arab Emirates, in addition to Nevin Gamea - Minister of Industry and Trade of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Within the framework of the working sessions, a special discussion session was held for the Arab Chambers, which was moderated by the Secretary-General of the Austrian Arab Chamber of Commerce, Mudar Khoja. During the session, the following participants also spoke: His Excellency Al-Ain Nael Al-Kabariti, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Chamber, His Excellency Samir Abdullah Nass, First Vice President of the Federation of Arab Chambers and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and His Excellency Rida bin Juma Al Saleh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Amman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khal Hanafi.
Dr. Khaled Hanafi noted, during his speech, that the potential of the Arab world and the role of Brazil in South America has not yet been fully explored in terms of developing relations between Brazil and the Arab countries. Emphasizing that Arab-Brazilian relations must go beyond the traditional framework based on the volume of trade exchange, considering that despite the importance of numbers, we must get out of this traditional framework, where in quantitative terms, Brazilian and Arab exports share just traditional trade, and for that, we must work to modify trade relations and turn them into trade relations targeting each other's market for a strategic partnership.
Hanafi believed 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." He pointed out that "the Union of Arab Chambers, in cooperation with its partners in Brazil, especially the Arab-Brazilian Chamber, will not stop working on building strategic partnership relations between Arabs and Brazilians."
He said, "Exports from Brazil to Arab countries have historically been limited to the issue of food, but given the existing capabilities, there is a great deal of room for trade development and diversification."
He considered that "the presence of a direct shipping lane between Brazil and the Arab countries is critical for the expansion of business, as this route will connect different ports, including one in Tangiers, Morocco, and another in a location that may be in the Gulf."
He concluded: “The direct shipping corridor is a major logistical project for the League of Arab States, the Union of Arab Chambers and the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, and we are about to make a strategic decision regarding ports in this upcoming path, which will include stops in Morocco and the Gulf. From here we must work to reach those markets, we can never be satisfied with simply exports and imports as they are now, as we must broaden our horizons, a strategic partnership can significantly enhance economic relationships and add value across multiple sectors. By working together on this vital project, we can support small suppliers with a direct transportation system that will be beneficial to all.”
As for the head of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, Nael Raja Al-Kabariti, he stressed “that it is necessary to think more about the future of Brazil's relationship with the Arab world outside the scope of trade. As the reason for this meeting is to strengthen this relationship and increase opportunities, and to enhance the role of businessmen, their participation, and the role of governments,” considering that "the world is no longer the same, and we need to confront this different world to be partners and move from the import-export relationship to building a strategic partnership."
The President of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rida bin Juma Al Saleh, noted that "Brazilian-Arab relations are healthy and have made progress in recent years despite the challenges, but I think we still have opportunities to increase these numbers."
He pointed out that “there are 16 Brazilian companies operating in the Sultanate of Oman, where there are promising opportunities in the Sultanate, in light of a promising vision for the year 2040 based on a renewable and clean economy as the main pillars. There are also strategic projects in the field of logistics and food security, and from here we invite Brazilian investors to be an active part in these huge investment projects.”
The President of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Samir Abdullah Nass, pointed out “that there are optimistic possibilities for the growth of relations between Brazil and the Arab world. Brazil is an important country in terms of new emerging alliances, as there are many key opportunities in sectors such as finance and automobiles, and these are promising sectors for strengthening relations in general.”
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
