Two of South America’s most iconic cities will soon have a faster link to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and over 100 destinations worldwide when airliner Emirates commences its daily non-stop service to Rio de Janeiro and extension to Buenos Aires on 3 January 2012.
The Dubai-Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires service will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft whose bellyhold capacity will support key imports and exports, according to a press release from Emirates.
To/from Rio, goods will include automobile parts, accessories, manufactured goods, fruit and vegetables, machinery and pharmaceutical products.
And for Buenos Aires, key imports and exports include perishables, textiles as well as pharmaceuticals.
“Both Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro are rightly renowned as world-class leisure destinations as well as important business and trading centres,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group.
“Our research has shown that there is a high demand for these cities from across our network.”
The move plays an important role in increasing tourism, trade and investment between Argentina, Brazil and the UAE, in addition to the airline’s vast global network, according to Carlos Enrique Meyer, Minister of Tourism of Argentina.
“The arrival of Emirates will be an important bridge between Rio de Janeiro and the East, generating many new trade and tourism opportunities,” added Sergio Cabral Filho, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Over the last few years, Emirates said South America has experienced record-paced economic growth, even in the shadow of the global downturn of 2008.
According to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, exports from Brazil to Arab countries totalled US$12.57bn in 2010, representing an annual growth of 34 per cent, while imports ended the year with US$6.9bn, an increase of 33 per cent compared to 2009.
