Lula spoke this Thursday at the opening of the Brazil-Qatar Economic Forum before heading to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he will attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-28) tomorrow.
“We want to look to the future together and attract a new wave of investment to Brazil.” “Our bilateral trade has grown exponentially, from about $38 million in 2003 to $1.6 billion today,” the president revealed.
He acknowledged that “Qatar is currently one of our main gateways for doing business with the Middle East and has a vibrant business community with strong interest in Brazil.”
The president emphasized that he sees good opportunities in the areas of defense, aviation and auto parts.
“There is ample scope to diversify our trade agenda with higher value-added products such as automotive parts, defense products and Embraer aircraft like the C-390 that took me to Doha,” he noted.
After attending the forum, Lula paid an official visit to the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Zani, and stressed that Brazil wants to consolidate its position as one of the protagonists of the current global transition to a sustainable economy.
“The energy transition is a new opportunity to repeat this success story in low-carbon energy, waste reuse, green infrastructure and social biodiversity,” he said.
He emphasized that Brazil will soon be an exporter of sustainability. “We have immense potential in solar, wind, biofuels and green hydrogen,” he added.
He announced that at COP-28 “I will launch a call for action and ambition to address the climate crisis.” “I am sure that Qatar can also be an important ally on this agenda,” he affirmed.
On the same day, Prime Minister of the Brazilian Civil House Rui Costa delivered a lecture to Qatari businessmen and executives at the opening of the forum.
He presented the $347 billion planned for infrastructure investments under the New PAC (Growth Acceleration Program), highlighted the Green Agenda and how the country is working on the transition to a sustainable economy.
At the end of the event, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad praised the South American giant’s ability to attract investments in projects related to sustainability.
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