Brazil strengthens ties with Gulf nations ahead of COP30
BELÉM (WAM)The Minister of Tourism of Brazil Celso Sabino has met with ambassadors from six Gulf countries in the northern Brazilian city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, to discuss investment and cooperation ahead of the COP30.The meeting with representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain aimed to strengthen ties, enhance cooperation, and attract investment in logistics, infrastructure and sustainable solutions, as part of preparations for COP30, according to Agência Brasil. The event is scheduled for November 2025 in Belém.Sabino, who is acting as the federal government's liaison with strategic blocs, said that this year's climate conference would be a unique opportunity to project the Amazon as host of a high-level global event.'Our commitment is for COP30 to be remembered not only for the decisions that will be made, but for the exemplary experience we will offer. We want it to be the best COP in history — the COP of the Forest — showing the world the strength of our hospitality, organisation and respect for the environment,' the minister said.He said the presence of Gulf representatives in Belém is strategic in highlighting the Amazon's role as home to more than 30 million people whose communities preserve the rainforest.During the meeting with the ambassadors, Sabino presented a range of local development initiatives: the modernisation of Belém's hotel network, improvements to urban transport, the expansion of the regional air network, and incentives for accommodation providers — all aligned with the objective of ensuring adequate infrastructure and logistics for the global summit.
The minister said Brazil's push to broaden international participation at COP30 would continue in the coming months, positioning the Amazon as a hub for innovation, sustainability, and cooperation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
8 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi clubs gear up for Pro League season
14 Aug 2025 00:39 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)As the countdown goes down to the start of the ADNOC Pro League's new season, clubs are burning the midnight oil to pick up players even though the transfer window remains open until October clubs are trying to get their new signings into the country as early as possible while the season's opening fixtures are set to unfold on Saturday and Sunday, marking the 18th staging of the league in its professional season's launch was preceded by a formal draw event held at ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The event was attended by dignitaries, including Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC CEO, as well as Abdulla Al Jneibi, Chairman of the UAE Pro League and First Vice President of the UAE Football the draw introduced a novel AI-driven schedule mechanism, designed to distribute high-profile matches evenly across rounds, avoid clustering matches within the same city, and respect clubs' continental commitments. The first round has ensured easy match-ups for the top-table clubs from last year's standings, thus expecting a flying first round will feature the following pairings: Shabab Al Ahli vs Al Dhafra; Dibba vs Sharjah; Al Ain vs Al Bataeh; Ittihad Kalba vs Al Nasr; Ajman vs Al Wahda; Khor Fakkan vs Al Jazira; and Al Wasl vs Bani clubs based out of the Abu Dhabi emirate, Al Jazira have bolstered their squad by securing Brazilian defender Willyan Rocha from CSKA Moscow in their latest addition. He joins the 'Pride of Abu Dhabi' club, comprising foreign players such as Egyptians Ibrahim Adel and Mohamed Elneny, French playmaker Nabil Fekir, and the Argentine forward Roman Merez. Rocha's arrival underscores Al Jazira's ambition to enhance defensive depth while maintaining creative midfield and attacking Ain will commence the season against newly promoted Al Bataeh. The leading club from Al Ain Region strengthened their squad in June by recruiting Houssine Rahimi on a four-year contract; the midfielder comes from Raja Casablanca and joins his brother, Soufiane, at the Wahda, another prominent Abu Dhabi-based side, will face Ajman in the opening Yas executed a flurry of transfer activity in recent days, adding several foreigners to their roster. They signed Brazilian midfielder Kaiki Pereira (25), previously with Botafogo and Spartak Subotica; UAE international Mackenzie Hunt (23), from Fleetwood Town in England; and Tunisian playmaker Oussama Abeid (23), from Étoile du Sahel. The club complemented these with other signings and who were presented in front of iconic local backdrops. Uzbek player Akmal Muzgovoi was announced via visuals at Yas Marina Circuit, Mali's Mahamadou Camara was introduced through heritage-themed content, and Ivorian striker Ismaël Touré was revealed using footage from Zayed International Bataeh, meanwhile, signed Guinean midfielder Omar Keita, 22, on loan from Shabab Al Ahli. Al Dhafra have added Moroccan striker Karim El Berkaoui, 30, on a free transfer for one season. Among the Dubai clubs, Al Wasl have unveiled their marquee acquisition, Sergio Pereira Andrade or Serginho, from Cape Verde. He joins from the Danish club Viborg. The signing for the club, nicknamed Emperors, was publicised through a creative video produced at the Jebel Ali racecourse – colloquially called the 'Yellow Track.' The distribution of matchups through the AI-based draw system aims to set an even competitive tone in the initial rounds. Clubs will aim to deploy their enhanced rosters effectively in order to commence the season with results that reflect their aspirations.
Zawya
15 hours ago
- Zawya
Just in time? Manufacturers turn to AI to weather tariff storm
Manufacturers like U.S. lawnmower maker The Toro Company are not panicking at the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade tariffs. Despite five years of dramatic supply disruptions, from the COVID pandemic to today's trade wars, Toro is resisting any temptation to stack its warehouses to the rafters. "We are at probably pre-pandemic inventory levels," says its chief supply-chain manager, Kevin Carpenter, looking relaxed in front of a whiteboard at his office in Minneapolis. "I mean 2019. I think everybody will be at a 2019 level." Among U.S. manufacturers, inventories have roller-coasted this year as they rushed to beat Trump's deadlines for tariff hikes, only to see them repeatedly delayed. But since their post-pandemic expansion, inventories have mostly contracted, according to U.S. Institute for Supply Management data. Instead, "just in time" inventory management - which aims to increase efficiency and reduce waste by ordering goods only as they are needed - is back. But how can firms run lean inventories even as tariffs fluctuate, export bans come out of the blue, and conflict rages? One of the answers, they say, is artificial intelligence. Carpenter says he uses AI to digest the daily stream of news that could impact Toro's business, from Trump's latest social media posts to steel prices, into a custom-made podcast that he listens to each morning. His team also uses generative AI to sieve an ocean of data and to suggest when and how many components to buy from whom. It is a boom industry. Spending on software that includes generative AI for supply chains, capable of learning and even performing tasks on its own, could hit $55 billion by 2029, up from $2.7 billion now, according to U.S. research firm Gartner, driven in part by global uncertainties. HYPE "The tool just puts up in front of you: 'I think you can take 100 tonnes of this product from this plant to transfer it to that plant. And you just hit accept if that makes sense (to you)," McKinsey supply chain consultant Matt Jochim said. The biggest providers of overall supply chain software by revenue are Germany's SAP, U.S. firms Oracle, Coupa and Microsoft and Blue Yonder, a unit of Panasonic, according to Gartner. Generative AI is in its infancy, with most firms still piloting it spending modest amounts, industry experts say. Those investments can climb to tens of millions of dollars when deployed at scale, including the use of tools known as AI agents, which make their own decisions and often need costly upgrades to data management and other IT systems, they said. In commenting for this article, SAP, Oracle, Coupa, Microsoft and Blue Yonder described strong growth for generative AI solutions for supply chains without giving numbers. At U.S. supply chain consultancy GEP, which sells AI tools like this, Trump's tariffs are helping to drive demand. "The tariff volatility has been big," says GEP consultant Mukund Acharya, an expert in retail industry supply chains. SAP said the uncertainty was driving technology take-up. "That's how it was during the financial crisis, Brexit and COVID. And it's what we're seeing now," Richard Howells, SAP vice president and supply chain specialist, said in a statement. An AI agent can sift real-time news feeds on changing tariff scenarios, assess contract renewal dates and a myriad of other data points and come up with a suggested plan of action. But supply chain experts warn of AI hype, saying a lot of money will be wasted on a vain hope that AI can work miracles. "AI is really a powerful enabler for supply chain resilience, but it's not a silver bullet," says Minna Aila, communications chief at Finnish crane-maker Konecranes and member of a business board that advises the OECD on issues including supply chain resilience. "I'm still looking forward to the day when AI can predict terrorist attacks that are at sea, for instance." Konecranes' logistics partners are deploying AI on more mundane data, like weather forecasts. The company makes port cranes that are up to 106 metres (348 ft) high when assembled. When shipping them, AI marries weather forecasts with data like bridge heights to optimise the route. "To ship those across oceans, you do have to take into consideration weather," Aila says. RISING COSTS By keeping inventories low, firms can bolster profit margins that are under pressure from rising costs. Every component or finished product sitting on a shelf is capital tied up, incurring finance and storage costs and at risk of obsolescence. McKinsey has been surveying supply-chain executives since the pandemic. Its most recent survey showed that respondents relying on bigger inventory to cushion disruptions fell to 34% last year from 60% in 2022. Early responses from its upcoming 2025 survey suggest a similar picture, Jochim said. Gartner supply chain analyst Noha Tohamy says that without AI, companies would be slower to react and be more likely to be drawn into building up inventories. "When supply chain organisations don't have that visibility and don't really understand the uncertainty, we go for inventory buffering," Tohamy says. But AI agents won't put supply chain managers out of work, not yet, consultants say. Humans still need to make strategic and big tactical decisions, leaving AI agents to do more routine tasks like ordering and scheduling production maintenance. Toro supply chain chief Carpenter says that without AI, supply chain managers might need to run bigger teams as well. Is he worried that AI is coming for his job one day? "I hope it doesn't take it until my kids get through college!" (Reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Zawya
16 hours ago
- Zawya
Brazil strengthens ties with Gulf nations ahead of COP30
BELÉM - The Minister of Tourism of Brazil Celso Sabino has met with ambassadors from six Gulf countries in the northern Brazilian city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, to discuss investment and cooperation ahead of the COP30. The meeting with representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain aimed to strengthen ties, enhance cooperation, and attract investment in logistics, infrastructure and sustainable solutions, as part of preparations for COP30, according to Agência Brasil. The event is scheduled for November 2025 in Belém. Sabino, who is acting as the federal government's liaison with strategic blocs, said that this year's climate conference would be a unique opportunity to project the Amazon as host of a high-level global event. 'Our commitment is for COP30 to be remembered not only for the decisions that will be made, but for the exemplary experience we will offer. We want it to be the best COP in history — the COP of the Forest — showing the world the strength of our hospitality, organisation and respect for the environment,' the minister said. He said the presence of Gulf representatives in Belém is strategic in highlighting the Amazon's role as home to more than 30 million people whose communities preserve the rainforest. During the meeting with the ambassadors, Sabino presented a range of local development initiatives: the modernisation of Belém's hotel network, improvements to urban transport, the expansion of the regional air network, and incentives for accommodation providers — all aligned with the objective of ensuring adequate infrastructure and logistics for the global summit. The minister said Brazil's push to broaden international participation at COP30 would continue in the coming months, positioning the Amazon as a hub for innovation, sustainability and cooperation.
