São Paulo – This Wednesday (9th), the ambassador Bernardo de Azevedo Brito has stated that Brazilian enterprises must seek out business deals in Iraq. “Brazil cannot leave this market untapped,” said the diplomat during the launch of his book Iraque: dos primórdios à procura de um destino (Iraq: from the early days to the quest for a destiny) at the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo. He served as Brazilian ambassador in the Arab country from 2006 to 2011.
According to Brito, the book is mostly geared towards scholars and businessmen who are interested in learning about the Iraqi political and economic scenario. He believes the news on Iraq as shown in Brazil convey a “deformed image.” “And that discourages people from going to Iraq,” he said.
The ambassador noted that the violence notwithstanding, Iraq is a country “that grows at 8% to 9% a year” and does “invests massively.” “It is an extremely important economy with a great outlook in the Middle East,” he said.
He mentioned the importance of the Arab Brazilian Chamber’s work in promoting bilateral trade. “During my term in office, the Arab Brazilian Chamber, thanks to its [CEO] Michel [Alaby], always responded to the embassy’s pleas,” he said. “I hope the organization insists on its pioneering actions, and on breaking into promising new markets in the Middle East,” he added.
Alaby, in turn, described the diplomat as a “conqueror of the Iraqi market” and one of the people who have “helped tailor Brazilian foreign policy for the Levant region and neighbouring countries.” Prior to serving at the embassy in Iraq, Brito was head of the Brazilian representation in Ramallah, West Bank.
Erbil Fair
The Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO seized the occasion to discuss Brazilian participation in the Erbil International Fair, due in in Northern Iraq from September 22nd to 25th. The Chamber organizes the Brazilian stand at the fair alongside the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil) and the Brazilian embassy in Baghdad, currently headed by ambassador Anuar Nahes.
“The last two times I was at the fair, local companies were bent on buying directly from Brazil,” he said, adding that Brazilian products arrive at the Iraqi market via intermediaries in the neighbouring countries Turkey and Iran. “Erbil is the gateway into Northern Iraq, and a hub for international companies,” he said. Registrations for the fair are open.
The event at the Arab Brazilian Chamber was mostly attended by delegates from member companies. Many of the attendees showed interest in exhibiting at the fair.
Some of these enterprises have taken part in past editions of the fair and operate on the Iraqi market. A case in point is Fanem, a medical and hospital equipment manufacturing company. The company was experiencing difficulties bidding in tenders in Iraq as a result of a legal caveat that favours manufacturers from United States, Europe, and Japan. With backing from the Brazilian embassy in Baghdad and the Arab Brazilian Chamber, however, the issue is being reviewed, and a change may take place soon.
One pending issue between Brazil and Iraq is an embargo on Brazilian beef. Like Saudi Arabia, Iraq banned imports following eh Brazilian government’s announcement, in December 2012, that an animal in the state of Paraná, which died in 2010, was a bearer of the causative agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, aka mad cow disease, but did not develop the condition. Last year, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) confirmed that Brazil’s “negligible risk” status for the disease has been maintained.
“The embargo on beef remains in place, but we will try to sort it out,” said Alaby. “The leader in this battle is the Abiec,” he added, referring to the Association of Brazilian Beef Exporters, represented at the event by ambassador Brito.
The official launch of the diplomat’s book will be held on Thursday (10th), at 7:00 pm, at Fundação Badesc, in central Florianópolis, the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, where he lives.
Service
Iraque: dos primórdios à procura de um destino
Bernardo de Azevedo Brito
Publisher: Editora UFSC
376 pages
Price: R$ 58.00 (US$ 26 at current exchange rates)
Where to buy: www.editora.ufsc.br
Launch: Thursday, 04/10, 7:00 pm
Place: Fundação Badesc, Rua Visconde de Ouro Preto, 216, Centro, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina
Tel.: (+ 55 48) 3224-8846
Website: http://fundacaoculturalbadesc.com/
Information on the Erbil International Fair
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce
Tel.: (+55 11) 3283-4066
Email: members@ccab.org.br
Website: www.ccab.org.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
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