Saudi-Brazil ties scale new heights with Shoura visit

Parliamentary relations between the Kingdom and Brazil are set to reach new heights following talks held between key officials from the two countries on Thursday.
The bilateral talks were held in Brazil between members of a Shoura Council delegation and the Vice President of Brazil, Michele Temer.
The visiting Shoura team to Brazil was headed by Mohamed Al-Nakada, while other members of the delegation included Ahmed Al-Mofarreh, Sadak Al-Fadel, Awad Al-Asmar, Firdouse A. Al-Saleh, Mansoor Al-Kredees and Fahd Al-Musaint.
Delivering the welcome address at the talks, Brazilian Vice President Temer lauded the efforts of Saudi Arabia to strengthen the bilateral relations with Brazil in all possible fields. He added that the talks could lead to new areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Responding to the vice president’s speech, Al-Nakada said that the Kingdom is keen to strengthen the existing friendly relations between the two countries.
Al- Nakada, who is the chairman of the Saudi-Brazilian Parliamentary Friendship Committee, said that there are several areas from which both countries could mutually benefit.
Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Saudi Arabia were established in 1968 and 1973, when both countries opened their embassies in Brazil and Jeddah, respectively. The Brazilian Embassy in Jeddah later moved to Riyadh in 1986. Following the opening of the embassies by both countries, an agreement for Economic and Technical Cooperation was signed in Brazil on April 2, 1975. Other major agreements between the countries were the Basic Agreement for Scientific and Technical Cooperation signed on August 13, 1981, as well as the Protocol on Industrial-Military Cooperation in 1984.
According to Brazilian Ambassador Flavio Marega, the Consular Section of the Embassy of Brazil in Riyadh issued over 2,600 visas for Saudi nationals to visit Brazil last year, including 600 visas during the period of the 2014 Football World Cup. Additionally, he noted that this number is high in comparison to other Brazilian Embassies in the Gulf region, partly due to the higher trade volume between Saudi Arabia and Brazil, which exceeded $ 6 billion in 2013, not to mention the number of Saudi businessmen and public workers who often participate in conferences in different fields held in Brazil.
Brazil also has over 1.5 million Muslim citizen and therefore has many Islamic institutions, inducing many Saudi religious figures, academics and scholars to attend the various Islamic events held in Brazil throughout the year.