AJMAN, UAE – Business owners praised the importance of the activities of the “Brazilian Coffee Week” and its role in highlighting the coffee sector and its global importance in the growth of the business of the hospitality sector, wholesale and retail trade, and acquaintance with a wide range of coffee products and the history of its cultivation in Brazil.
This Forum provides an important platform for consolidating relations between business owners from Ajman and Brazil, especially in light of the development of the hospitality sector in Ajman and its direct impact on the growth of the tourism sector and thus the economic sector, which enhances the attractiveness of the emirate of Ajman as an investment destination characterized by a wide selection of pioneering projects.
This came during the activities of the Brazilian Coffee Week, which was hosted by the Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in cooperation with the Brazilian Embassy in the UAE and in partnership with the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in the presence of H.E. Ileana Zughaib, Ambassador of Brazil to the UAE, H.E. Mohamed Ali Al Janahi, Executive Director of the Trade Development and International Relations at the ACCI, and H.E. Rafael Solimeo, Director of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s International Office in Dubai.
By hosting the Brazilian Coffee Week, the Ajman Chamber aims at enhancing trade exchange between Ajman and Brazil by developing the business of more than 500 establishments, including 88 roasters operating in Ajman and 433 establishments specialized in serving beverages in Ajman.
During his speech, Mohamed Al Janahi stressed the importance of the Forum and its role in opening a direct channel of communication to consolidate relations, discussing frameworks for joint cooperation between Ajman and Brazil, and reviewing commercial opportunities in the coffee sector. He also explained that the Forum is an opportunity to learn about the history of coffee cultivation and its importance to the economy of Brazil as the largest coffee producing and exporting country in the world. In addition, the meeting also provides a tourist platform to learn about Brazilian culture and its connection to coffee products.
Al Janahi said that the Ajman Chamber is keen to strengthen its external partnerships with the aim of developing a renewed global economic relations network that supports expansion and business development opportunities and promotes the emirate as an ideal destination for investment, praising the results and impact of the Forum on developing the volume of trade in the coffee sector, especially in presence of a group of business owners and entrepreneurs working in the field of restaurants and hospitality, as well as representatives of the retail sector.
For her part, H.E. Ileana Zughaib thanked the Ajman Chamber for hosting the Brazilian Coffee Week forum, and praised the deep and strong relations between the two countries and its reflection on the growth of the volume of intra-regional trade between the UAE and Brazil, and indicated that the Forum is an opportunity to shed light on the investment possibilities available in Brazil and Ajman and promote the growth of trade volume, especially in the coffee sector.
She explained that Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee, with exports of coffee products during the past year amounting to nearly USD 6.5 billion. She also praised the strategic relations between the UAE and Brazil in the field of food security, explaining that the UAE accounted for 2.4% of roasted coffee exports out of Brazil’s total exports during 2021.
Marwan Hareb Al-Ariani, Marwan Hareb Al-Ariani, Director of the Promotion and International Relations Department at the ACCI, reviewed the components of the economic sector in Ajman and its advantages and investment opportunities in various sectors. He briefed the attendees on the most prominent sectors in Ajman and the how they contribute to Ajman’s GDP, as the industrial sector contributes by 19.7%, the construction sector by 19.7%, and the wholesale and retail trade sector by 17.1% during the year 2020. He also reviewed investment opportunities and the successive growth of the “real estate, tourism, education, health, and other sectors”.
Rafael Solimo gave an overview of the history of coffee cultivation in Brazil and how this vital sector contributes to the Brazilian economy, the cultivated areas, Brazil’s production of coffee cultivation, and the most traded Arab markets with Brazil.
The Forum is accompanied by an exhibition to introduce the attendees to the finest types of coffee products, as well as holding bilateral meetings between the attendees from business owners to discuss ways of cooperation and concluding potential deals.
H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, a businessman, stated that the activities of the Brazilian Coffee Week provided an opportunity to learn about a wide range of coffee products, in addition to providing an important platform for consolidating relations between business owners from Ajman and Brazil, and added, “The development and growth of the hospitality sector in Ajman depends directly on the developments of the tourism sector and the effectiveness of the emirate’s tourism promotion channels,” stressing the need for national brands to contribute to promoting the hospitality sector in Ajman.
He also praised the efforts of the Ajman Chamber in diversifying the participation of business owners and entrepreneurs in specialized exhibitions and forums that support the growth and continuity of the national projects.
Saud Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the owner of the ROR Roastery, stressed the importance of the activities of the Brazilian Coffee Week, given the global reputation that Brazil enjoys in this vital sector. He pointed out that the Roastery’s products depend on about 60% of Brazilian coffee, and valued the Ajman Chamber’s role in organizing this important event and getting to know the suppliers of coffee products and officials of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber, which will enhance the possibility of conducting future deals between business owners from the two countries.
At the end of the Forum, the attendees exchanged souvenirs and commemorative shields and recommended the need to intensify future meetings and enhance participation in events and exhibitions organized in both Ajman and Brazil with a view to opening channels of cooperation and partnership between business owners and learning about best practices and experiences in various sectors.
The events of the Forum held at the Fairmont Hotel Ajman were attended by Shaheen Ali Shaheen, Regional Advisor to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, and members of the Board of Directors of the Ajman Business Women Council: Dr. Nora Al-Marzooqi, Fatima Hassan Al Shehhi, Iman Obaid Al Som, and Marwan Hareb Al-Ariani, and Jamila Kajour, Director of the Ajman Business Support Center at the Ajman Chamber, and a group of business owners from Ajman and Brazil.
