UAE, June 29, 2016– The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) has revealed that major importers of pharmaceutical products from the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia held fruitful discussions with Brazilian pharmaceutical manufacturers during a business matchmaking event in São Paulo -- a strategic meeting that could help further boost the two Arab countries’ trade ties with the vast South American country.  In 2015, Saudi Arabia and the UAE imported a combined USD 3 million worth of pharmaceutical products from Brazil. 

The meeting took place during the FCE Pharma expo held at the Transamérica Expo Center recently. The Arab prospective buyers - one each from the Emirates and the Kingdom – were invited to the event as guests under the Brazilian Pharma Solutions program designed to boost local exports by collaborating with priority international markets. 

Managed by the Brazilian Pharmachemical and Pharmaceutical Inputs Industry Association (Abiquifi) and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil),  the Brazilian Pharma Solutions comprises around 70 pharmaceutical companies, from medication and medication inputs manufacturing to veterinary medication manufacturing to biotech for healthcare.

Dr. Michel Alaby, Secretary General and CEO, Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, said: “The recent matchmaking event between Arab and Brazilian pharmaceutical companies could help further their respective pharmaceutical industries. The positive and productive discussions between both sides signal their keenness to strengthen their relations and bring their cooperation to new levels of growth and development. We are confident that similar fruitful interaction will continue to take place in the future as we reiterate our unwavering support to such significant endeavors. This is part of our pursuit of further strengthening and sustaining the already robust relations between key Arab countries and Brazil.”    

In the Arab World, the Kingdom boasts of huge market size and imports volume in terms of pharmaceutical products, while the UAE serves as an international gateway to the region, according to an analyst. Aside from Emirati and Saudi importers, companies from Nigeria, Iran, and Turkey also attended the expo. The foreign importers visited various Brazilian companies as well on the sidelines of their participation in the event.