(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) Alexandre Rocha
São Paulo & Brasília – Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Rubens Hannun said this Thursday (11) that the fact that 37 ambassadors from Islamic countries, including Arab ones, had dinner with Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro Wednesday (10) in Brasília, is a positive thing. 'This dinner put an end to a 'non-conversation.' No one was speaking to anyone else. This paved the way for dialogue,' said Hannun, who was in attendance.
The meeting came in the wake of Bolsonaro's visit to Israel and the announcement of a new trade office in Jerusalem . The Brazilian government's overtures to Israel and Bolsonaro's pledge to move the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem bred discomfort in Arab and Islamic countries, since Palestinians also claim the city as the capital to their would-be State.
Bolsonaro (R) greets Morocco ambassador as Hannun looks on in the background
Agência Brasil quoted Bolsonaro as saying Islamic and Arab trade relations with Brazil must translate into ever-growing ties of friendship and respect. In an address, Bolsonaro also said the federal government has its 'arms open' to all countries. 'May these ties in trade evolve more and more into ties of friendship, respect and fraternity,' the president said.
No official initiatives were made known, but Hannun pointed out that the dinner event enabled Brazilian authorities and the diplomats to speak. 'These contacts sparked a conversation and left the doors open for further dialogue down the way,' he said.
He stressed, however, that the question is yet to be resolved, since the 'ill-being' and 'noise' are still there. The Arab countries are major importers of goods from Brazil, especially food, and industry players fear that Bolsonaro's nods to Israel could get in the way of that.
Agribusiness
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