The development bank’s arm of export specialists – Tasdeer – spearheaded the group of local manufacturers, using close support and coordination of Embassy of State of Qatar in Brazil and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director of Export Development & Promotion Agency – Tasdeer, Hassan Khalifa Al-Mansoori said, “Trading with Brazil is advantageous for Qatar as our businesses will gain access into a new market, forge ties with new trading partners and form new professional friendships with their counterparts in Brazil. To this end, I’m indebted for the support extended to QDB by both the Ambassador of Qatar to Brazil, Mohammed bin Ahmad Al-Haiki, and CEO of Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby.”

“With this trip, we – at Tasdeer – plan to build on the past successes of Brazil-Qatar trade relations. Last year, Brazil exported QR 1.39bn ($378mn) worth of goods to Qatar and imported QR 1.97bn ($532mn) from Qatar. This year, we aim to reach new heights in Qatar-Brazil economic partnership,” he added.

Through its research-driven export initiatives, Tasdeer regularly aims to assist all local enterprises, particularly those with ability to export, to break into regional and international markets. The latest trip to Brazil came against the backdrop of a recent research conducted by QDB on the Latin American country’s market. The study took into account important aspects such as market size, average prices, market competitiveness, market needs, business culture, regulatory standards, as well as export procedures, trade laws, and compliance of Brazilian import-export documentation.

Since the establishment of Tasdeer, export development programme has successfully introduced Qatari exports to various world markets and reinforced QDB’s support to local business through provision of credit guarantees, services on trade finance, and risk hedging on invoices.

The scope and breadth of Tasdeer was recently recognised on the international stage when International Trade Center (ITC), a joint agency of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), nominated QDB for 2016 Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO) Award, under the category of best development agency in a developing country. Incidentally, QDB was the sole development agency shortlisted from amongst the countries in the GCC and MENA region. Other nominated development agencies, under the same category, included those from the following countries: Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica and South Korea.