(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA))
São Paulo – The Saudi Arabian investment minister, Khalid Al-Falih, participated this Monday (31) morning in the Brazil-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum, which took place at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) headquarters on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo. The Saudi official traveled to Brazil with a delegation of around 100, including dozens of business people.
25 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in the petrochemical, food processing, tourism, healthcare, real estate, aerospace, and defense sectors. The event was attended by the Brazilian vice president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin; São Paulo state governor, Tarcísio de Freitas; São Paulo city mayor, Ricardo Nunes; and Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) president, Jorge Vianna.
The Brazil-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum presented opportunities to strengthen ties between the two countries. This is the first of a series of appointments for the Saudi delegation, traveling to six other Latin American countries over the next few days until August 9. Minister Khalid Al-Falih will also travel to Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica, and Panama.
The forum marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Brasília in 1973. Since then, bilateral and economic ties have deepened significantly. In 2022, Brazil exported the equivalent of USD 2.91 billion to Saudi Arabia, primarily commodities, while, in the same period, Brazil mainly imported oil and fertilizers worth USD 5.3 billion from the Arab country, which points to the complementarity of the two countries' profiles and suggests a solid growth potential.
One of the MoUs signed was between construction company OEC and the Saudi Ministry of Investment, for the company to open a regional branch in the Gulf country to explore construction opportunities in consortium with Saudi construction firms. Technology company Light Capital also signed an MoU with the Saudi Ministry to open a branch in the country and explore payment systems in the Middle East.
Earlier this month, Manara Minerals, a joint venture between Ma'aden and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), signed an agreement to invest in Vale Base Metals Limited (VBM), the managing entity of Vale's energy transition. The MoU was included in the forum (pictured above) balance.
Other noteworthy partnerships mentioned at the event were the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC)'s 25% stake in Minerva Foods, one of the largest meatpackers in South America, and the PIF's program to invest up to USD 10 billion in Brazil as part of its international investment strategy.
The forum is a partnership between FIESP Sete Partners, and Saudi Arabia's investment agency Invest Saudi, with support from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
Ayrton Vignola/Fiesp
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