Brazil inks bilateral deals with Arab Emirates

On an official trip to the United Arab Emirates, President Jair Bolsonaro signed eight bilateral deals with the Middle East in such as areas as piece and security, economic cooperation, artificial intelligence, environment, and defense. The Brazilian entourage was welcomed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (Oct 27) by crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Bolsonaro is visiting three countries in the region. After the Arab Emirates, he should fly to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, great consumer of Brazilian agribusiness product and promising buyers of defense goods. The two countries own a major portion of sovereign funds in search of investment opportunities in emerging countries.

“Brazil has made real changes, the figures in the economy are proof thereof, and the fact that we’re restoring the world’s confidence encourages more and more countries to make business with Brazil”, the president told the Emirates News Agency before leaving the country for Qatar.

Agreements

To whet the interest of companies in expanding activities in Brazil an understanding was signed with the Arab Emirates to facilitate the exchange of information on business environments and investment opportunities in the country through the sharing of experiences and better business practices.

In the defense arena, the two countries plan to build a fund for the expansion of the sector’s productive capacity in Brazil. The goal is to finance projects seen as top priority by the two nations. Guidelines were also introduced for the development, production, and trade of defense products.

Documents were signed for the development of high-level initiatives in the fields of peace and security; economic cooperation—especially in commerce, investment, industry, infrastructure, agriculture, and transport; as well as cooperation in energy and tourism, culture, and sports.

Official visits

The Arab Emirates—Brazil’s second biggest partner in the region—had not been visited by a Brazilian head of state for over ten years. Brazil is its main partner in Latin America.

The Brazilian president met with an executive at the Brazil–United Arab Emirates Business Seminar and saw Brazilian and Emirati jujitsu athletes. Approximately 10 thousand Brazilians live in the Arab Emirates, several pursuing a career in the martial art, mandatory in the country’s military academies.

“The meeting with executives and authorities in this country, for me, was amazing, and I’m convinced everything discussed here will materialize. Brazil has a lot to offer and we also need the Arab Emirates for the development of our country,” he said, adding there are over 5 million Arabs living in Brazil.