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A delegation from the Arab-Brazilian Chamber, headed by Rubens Hannun, President of the Chamber, accompanied by Tamer Mansour, Advisor to the president for Strategic Affairs, visited the headquarters of the Union of Arab Chambers, in Beirut, and met with Dr. Khaled Hanafi, Secretary-General of the Union, in presence of Mrs. Hoda Kashtan, Director of the Joint Arab Foreign Chambers and a number of Secretariat’s team. During the meeting, they discussed the mechanisms and means to enhance cooperation between the Union of Arab Chambers and the Arab-Brazilian Chamber, in ways to stimulate Arab-Brazilian economic relations.
Dr. Khaled Hanafi introduced to the delegation the common e-Market project, which the Union intends to implement in the next stage, considering that "this project will have huge benefits for the Economy," calling on the Brazilian side to be a partner in the implementation. He stated, "The Arab countries are not the only beneficiaries of this project, their friendly countries are also part of it, especially those within the framework of the Joint Arab Foreign Chambers."
"It is true that the capital value of the project is huge, but at the same time its positive impact is also huge, especially that we are investing in the future, as the world today is witnessing a huge technological revolution that will affect every corner of the economy. Therefore the Arab World must prepare for that shift and our project carries the aspiration dream of the Common Arab Market."
Dr. Hanafi made a briefing on the ongoing preparations of the Arab Private Sector Forum which will be held in the headquarters of the Union of Arab Chambers in Beirut, early January 2019, in conjunction with the Fourth Economic and Social Development Summit. He invited the delegation to participate to the Forum as it is an important event during which its decisions will be presented to Arab Kings, Leaders and Presidents.
For his part, Rubens Hannun welcomed the ideas presented by the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, especially the e-Market project, expressing the desire of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber to be a partner and a key contributor to the project. He requested a complete file of the project for in-depth study, so that the next steps to enter into the project will be operational as soon as possible due to its great economic benefits.
At the end of the meeting, souvenirs were exchanged between the two sides. The Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, presented an honorary shield to the President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber and the President of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber also presented an honorary shield to the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers. After what, the delegation was given a site tour of the Union’s Premises where they were introduced to each function of the Secretariat.