Lula spoke this Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Brazilian-Qatari Economic Forum, before leaving for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he will participate tomorrow in the United Nations Climate Conference (COP-28).
“We want to look to the future together and attract a new wave of investments to Brazil. The President revealed that our bilateral trade has grown significantly, rising from about $38 million in 2003 to $1.6 billion today.
“Qatar is currently one of our main gateways for business with the Middle East and has a vibrant business community with great interest in Brazil,” he admitted.
The president stressed that he sees good opportunities in the defense, aviation and auto parts sectors.
He pointed out, “There is ample scope to diversify our trade agenda with higher value-added products, such as auto parts, defense products, and Embraer aircraft, such as the C-390 that took me to Doha.”
After his participation in the forum, Lula paid an official visit to the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Zani, and stressed that Brazil intends to strengthen its position as one of the champions of the current global transformation towards a sustainable economy.
“The energy transition represents a new opportunity to replicate this success story in the areas of low-carbon energy, waste reuse, green infrastructure and social biodiversity,” he said.
He stressed that Brazil will soon become an exporter of sustainability. “We have huge potential in the solar, wind, biofuels and green hydrogen sectors,” he added.
He announced that at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties, “I will issue a call for action and ambition to confront the climate crisis.” He stressed: “I am sure that Qatar can also be an important ally in this agenda.”
On the same day, Mr. Rui Costa, Prime Minister of the Brazilian Civic House, made a presentation to Qatari businessmen and leaders at the opening of the forum.
He showcased the planned $347 billion in infrastructure investment through the new Accelerator Program (PAC), highlighting the green agenda and how the country is working to transition towards 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 linked to sustainability.
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