THE Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) recently coordinated with Apex, the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency, to highlight both the business and pleasure aspects of relationships between Brazil and the Middle East.

For more than half a century, the ABCC has been facilitating the strengthening of economic, cultural, tourism and information ties between Arabs and Brazilians. For its recent initiative, the chamber helped bring in a select group of 10 Arab entrepreneurs to its headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to participate in a food and building material buyer project. “The unique twist was that the visiting Arab businessmen had the option of watching ongoing FIFA Confederations Cup matches in Brazil either before or after two days of intense business roundtables with Brazilian companies,” a chamber statement said.

The event opened up key prospects for producers of granite, marble and wood as well as for producers of fruits, juices and processed food products.

“Trade events typically separate business from pleasure to have the best outcomes. This time, however, we wanted to bring out two important aspects that define successful Arab-Brazilian relations: our strong partnerships and our camaraderie. The good balance of activities provided a comfortable environment to make solid deals and explore present and future opportunities,” said Michel Alaby, CEO, Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.

The food sector was represented by The Sultan Centre (Kuwait); Maza (Bahrain) and Barakat International and Emke Group (UAE). The building business, on the other hand, was represented by Achysis (Jordan), United Building Company (Kuwait), Pan Emirates, Timber Yard, Bani Yousuf General Trading LLC and Crystal Building Materials (all in the UAE), and the Arabian Trading Corp (Saudi Arabia).

The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, established in 1952, represents 22 Arab countries. It provides various services such as document certification, market data and translation, among other things, and promotes events, workshops and courses. It also offers the Commercial Knowledge Centre, a reference centre for research.