In Qatar, Bolsonaro ends tour through Middle East

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Qatar, where he landed Wednesday (Nov. 18), delivered a preliminary summary of his meetings with authorities in a video shared on his social media. “A number of deals” were inked, he reported, including on tourism in the Amazon Region.

On his trip through the Middle East, the president visited the Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and lastly Qatar, where, as his first engagement, he took part in a meeting with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

After the gathering, the president went on a motorbike ride to visit the Lusail stadium, one of the venues to host the 2022 World Cup. The president’s last official engagement was a dinner with Qatari executives.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the visit aims to further commercial and investment ties, including a deal for cooperation and facilitated investment.

Brazil also plans to attract investment from the Arabs. As it stands today, Qatar’s sovereign fund controls over $300 billion in assets, with a global and diversified portfolio, but with scarce presence of Brazil. In 2020, commercial exchanges between Brazil and Qatar stood at $774.7 million.

Tourism

Still in Qatar, Brazilian Tourism Minister Gilson Machado announced that Brazil will have a new direct connection to Doha starting in February next year. The flight will be operated by Qatar Airways, linking the capital to Rio de Janeiro’s International Galeão Airport. Today, Qatar Airways operates daily flights between Doha and São Paulo, with arrivals at the International Guarulhos Airport.

According to the minister, Brazil-bound flights from Qatar’s air carrier have an average occupancy rate of 65 percent, which, he argued, shows a recovery in the tourism sector, which had been severely affected by the pandemic.