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Canoas, a city in the Brazilian southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, may get a beef slaughterhouse with capital from the United Arab Emirates. The president of the Makaseb Islamic bank, Ahmed El Helw, from the Arab country, was in the city of Rio de Janeiro and spoke about the possibility with the mayor of Canoas, Jairo Jorge da Silva, and the joint Economic Development secretary, Francisco Valmor Avila.
The intention is to produce meats in the city to export to the Emirates.
Makaseb is an investment bank and Helw visited Canoas to participate in an Islamic meeting promoted by the City Council. He met with the mayor of Canoas and with the joint secretary during the seminar.
According to Avila, the Arab country wants to guarantee future food safety and is also concerned with the matter of water. The country does not have abundant water resources and needs to guarantee the supply of food from abroad.
Avila explains, however, that there is not yet a concrete deal, just an intention. According to him, the bank should elaborate a viability study for investment and a committee from the Canoas City Hall should travel to the Emirates to discuss the matter further.
The joint-secretary says that one of the factors that brought Helw to Canoas was logistics. "We have an airport, highways, railways and a port in the vicinity," explained Avila.
Canoas City Hall has agreed to donate a piece of land for the construction of the slaughterhouse. Currently, according to Avila, the city does not have slaughterhouses, but in the past it did. Slaughter must be according to Islamic rules.
The objective is to supply the Muslim population in the country. Brazil is already a great supplier of meats to the Emirates. According to the joint secretary, 67% of the beef consumed in the country is now supplied by Brazilian companies.
The president of Makaseb also met with the president of the Federation of Agriculture of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Farsul), Carlos Sperotto, in Porto Alegre. According to information supplied by a spokesperson for the organization, apart from speaking about the installation of the slaughterhouse, Helw also showed the intention of buying corn, soy, rice and wheat from Rio Grande do Sul. The president of the Islamic institution said that his country plans to expand business with the state, mainly in agribusiness.
Helw also learned about a city government project in Canoas called City Hall in the Street, in which, on Saturdays, different secretariats talk to the people in public squares. He saw the project in action on August 15th, when talks were taking place at Ildo Meneghetti square, in the Guajuviras neighbourhood.
In talks during the Islamic seminar, the Canoas City Hall also showed the possibility of making available a piece of land for the construction of a mosque in the city.
The representative of the bank also made contact with the director of the International Promotion department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Eduardo Sampaio Marques. He asked for the meeting with Marques after having read an article that mentioned the ministry director.
Helw has already been at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce seeking information about the business opportunities in Brazil. In an interview last year, he said that the group's main interest is in the areas of food and building.
Anba
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