Jafza, Arab Brazilian Chamber sign MoU to strengthen ties

DUBAI- Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the flagship Free Zone operation of Economic Zones World (EZW), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to further strengthen bilateral commercial relations between the two sides.

Adil Al Zarooni and Rubens Hannun signing the MoU

The MoU was signed last week by Adil Al Zarooni, Senior Vice President – Sales, Jafza and Rubens Hannun, Vice President, Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce at the Chamber’s headquarters in Sao Paulo.

The MoU was part of Jafza’s 10-day Roadshow in Brazil which included 7-day Roadshow and Business Seminar in Sao Paulo and 3-day Roadshow and Business Seminar in Rio de Janeiro. Jafza Roadshow and Business Seminars in Brazil were supported by Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Brazil’s one of the leading agencies to boost economic and cultural relations between Brazil and Arab countries and Apex- Brasil, the Brazilian trade and promotion agency.

Apex-Brasil has established its regional hub in Jafza in 2009 and has been instrumental in expanding Brazilian presence in the region ever since. It operates an incubation centre in the Free Zone to support Brazilian businesses to explore and access business opportunities in the region’s rapidly expanding markets.

Jafza Roadshow was led by Adil Al Zarooni, Senior Vice President – Sales, and included Ahmad Bin Hareb, Senior Manager-Americas Region and Zilda Rosa, Executive –Sales.

Jafza Roadshow in Sao Paulo included one-to-one meetings with several manufacturers and exporters interested in the Middle East markets besides meeting with senior officials of Osasco City Commercial Association, which helps companies based in the city of Osasco to expand both regionally and internationally and FIESP, the industrial and logistics chamber of Sao Paulo.

During its Roadshow in Sao Paulo Jafza hosted two seminars titled “Dubai – your Gateway to the MEA, CIS and Indian subcontinent” that highlighted Jafza and Dubai’s status as the Middle East region’s trade and logistics centre and “Dubai’s Plan to become an Islamic Economy Hub”, which highlighted Dubai’s vision to become a global hub of Islamic Economy particularly EZW’s recent initiative to develop Halal Zones that are envisioned to evolve into the global hub for Halal products.

Jafza seminar “Dubai – your Gateway to the MEA, CIS and Indian subcontinent” was attended by more than 80 leading companies in Brazil besides top officials from the Arab Brazilian Chamber and Apex-Brasil and HE the UAE Consul General in Brazil. The seminar included presentations from Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Emirates Airline, Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Apex-Brasil. Jafza’s key note address and presentation on the main subject focused on Jafza’s key value propositions as the region’s premier business hub. Jafza seminar also included a presentation from M Cassab, a Jafza based Brazilian company, dealing in cosmetics, who has posted remarkable growth in its operations in the region since its inception.

Adil Al Zarooni speaking at the Seminar said:“Brazil and UAE enjoy very robust bilateral trade relations. The UAE is a major importer of Brazilian agricultural products in the region but huge growth possibilities still remain untapped not only in the agricultural sector but in electronics, textile, fashion, cosmetics, healthcare to steel and transport equipment sectors. Massive investments on developing economic and social infrastructure in the region that Jafza as a hub serves open huge opportunities for Brazilian companies. Our Roadshow and Business Seminar in Brazil seeks to create greater awareness of the opportunities in the Middle East and CIS among Brazilian businesses and attract them to Jafza, which is the business and logistics hub of the region. In terms of agro-products EZW’s upcoming Halal Zones offer huge opportunities for Brazilian companies in the food sector.”

Jafza’s 2nd seminar “Dubai’s Plan to become an Islamic Economy Hub” was attended by Brazil’s leading corporates including financial advisors, auditors and consultants as well as hedge funds besides the CEO of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, who gave overview of Dubai’s vision.

Jafza in its presentation talked about the key features of the upcoming EZW Halal Zones.

EZW, in collaboration with Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), announced in February this year the plan to develop two world-class Halal Zones, specifically designed to cater to the regional and international Halal Product markets. The move aims to position Dubai as a “Global Hub for Halal Products”.

EZW plans to develop Halal Zones as all-inclusive hubs, supported with world-class infrastructure, perfectly suited to attract leading enterprises in the entire gamut of halal industry.

EZW seeks to collaborate and attract organisations, associations, accreditation bodies, R&D, as well as advisory firms to support the entire halal value chain right from R&D, product development to sourcing, production, logistics, sales and marketing.

The group seeks to promote the Halal Standards globally, which are being evolved through the efforts of Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology and Dubai Accreditation Department, to attract enterprises within the Halal industry.

EZW has allocated infrastructure-ready plots of land for Halal Zones in Jafza and TechnoPark.

Multi-phased EZW Halal Zone Development Plan will also identify laws, regulations, and licencing needs of the Zone and draft laws and regulations accordingly. It will also setup the internal processes and systems to automate different processes.

Jafza, during its Roadshow in Sao Paulo, also attended a Citi Bank workshop held at Citi Bank headquarters in Brazil to understand the importance of Jafza for Citi Bank clients interested in expanding their reach to rapidly growing Middle Eastern markets, which Jafza as a hub serves.

Jafza has also conducted a similar business seminar in Rio de Janeiro, which was attended by 50 leading businessmen and institutions besides senior officials of the Chamber, Apex-Brasil and Banco De Brasil (Bank of Brazil), the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets.

Business Seminar included presentations from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Apex-Brasil, Emirates and Jafza. Jafza presentation also included details on the EZW Halal Hubs.