The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) successfully took part in the Economic Forum Brazil-Egypt, which was held recently at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo. The event was aimed towards forging stronger bilateral relations between the two countries while also exploring potential investment opportunities. Theopening of the forum was attended by Rubens Hannun, President, ABCC and CEO Tamer Mansour, along with several senior government officials, diplomats and delegates from both countries. The event was organized by the Global Council of Sales Marketing(GCSM) in partnership with the ABCC.
The forum included key discussions on timely topics covering both countries like the Geo-Economical environments of both countries, current advantages and investment opportunities, potential solutions to help address present and future challenges and the Mercosul and Egyptian Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements. The Economic Forum Brazil-Egypt is part of a series of events that the Brazilian delegation is set to take part of, which also includes participation at the GCSM’s World Company Award.
Rubens Hannun, President, ABCC, said, “The ABCC was glad to be part of the Economic forum between Egypt and Brazil, which was as a fitting testament to the continuing strong relations between the two countries. This event served as a strategic platform to discuss timely trends, issues and challenges while also giving us the opportunity to explore potential partnership and investment opportunities between key stakeholders from Brazil and Egypt. With the powerhouse list of attendees at this forum, we were successfully able to remove international trade barriers with mutual cooperation–taking full advantage of the opportunity to consolidate ties between Brazilian and Arab organizations.”
During the event, Hannun talked about the potential that Egypt represents for Brazil in terms of trade and investments, citing factors such as population, the free trade agreement the country has with Mercosur, and the efforts that Egypt has made in renovating infrastructure, creating jobs and boosting the economy.
Hannun pointed out that in 2018, Egypt was one of the main destinations of Brazilian exports in the Arab world, further noting that the country is one of the largest buyers of Brazil’s halal meat products with large Brazilian companies setting up subsidiaries in Egypt as well.
“We believe that Brazil-Egypt trade partnership should be seen by both governments as highly strategic, which is why we are doing everything that we can to develop and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries,” he said.
Recent industry reports have shown the vibrant relations between the two countries as Brazil’s exports to Egypt reached USD 2.1 billion in 2018 and grew by almost 50 per cent over the last ten years. Egypt’s sales to Brazil grew by 207 per cent over a decade, reaching USD 270 million last year. Brazil’s exports to Egypt are mainly beef, ore and corn, while Egyptians sell Brazilians fertilizers, olives and cotton.