São Paulo – International Relations students from the first to the sixth semester at the School of Advertising and Marketing (ESPM) visited the headquarters of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in São Paulo on Monday (26). They were welcomed by the ABCC’s vice president of marketing, Silvia Antibas, who presented the Arab countries and the activities carried out by the ABCC.
Market Intelligence Manager Marcus Vinicius gave a lecture on the Arab countries—a bloc made up of 22 Arabic-speaking nations in North Africa and the Middle East—and their relations with Brazil.
In his presentation, Vinicius highlighted that the Arab countries together make up the world’s fourth-largest importer and exporter and are the third-largest destination of Brazilian exports. They have a combined population of 482 million people across 11.2 million square kilometers, forming a group of countries with a combined gross domestic product of USD 3.6 trillion.
In her presentation, Silvia Antibas mentioned that the ABCC has received an increasing number of students at its headquarters. “We’ve been approached more and more by schools and universities, which makes us very happy, as we have a lot to share and many stereotypes to break [about the Arab countries]. The Arab world is much more than we imagine. It includes wealthy Gulf countries, Middle Eastern nations—many of which sent immigrants to Brazil—as well as North Africa and even Sub-Saharan Africa states,” she said.
Natalia Fingermann, coordinator of the Center for African Studies and Business (NENAF) in the International Relations program at ESPM, said the visit was important for both academic and professional development. “We currently have International Relations students in Brazil being trained at ESPM with a focus on corporate diplomacy, which is a key area of work for chambers of commerce in the country. So, we’ve been working to strengthen partnerships with the chambers, even to offer professional internship opportunities for our students,” she said. The students were accompanied during their visit by ABCC Institutional Relations Advisor Bassel Abou Latif.
Read more:
College students learn more about Arab countries
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
