São Paulo – Brazil is strengthening its ties with the Arab League. On March 9th, Marco Antônio Brandão, Brazilian ambassador in Egypt, was appointed Special Representative of Brazil alongside the League of Arab States. This is the first time the country has a representative in the organization.
“We have been working alongside the Arab League for a long time. We have a very strong relationship with them. We have been intensifying our interest in the relations with the Arab countries and we have to keep in touch with the countries that are important to us. It is quite a big political gesture,” the diplomat said, explaining his new position.
The ambassador says he is going to work on negotiations for cooperation. “We wrote a memorandum on the cooperation that includes a series of meetings and discussions for the economic, cultural and social areas”, says Brandão, pointing out that Brazil may offer several examples of social programmes for the Arabs. The contents of the memo are being evaluated by the Arab League and will be signed at a later date. According to the diplomat, Brazil hopes “the Arab world may live at peace inside their borders and with their neighboring countries.” He also says that the country is interested in economic and educational exchange with the nations of the region, with increasing the number of the Arab students in Brazilian colleges and also linguistic exchange, with further disseminating the Arabic language in Brazil and Portuguese in the Middle East and North Africa.
Brandão claims the Arab countries have a friend in Brazil. “They are diversifying their relationships, they are very open and receptive”, says the ambassador on the contact between Arabs and Brazilians. “The Arabs value a lot the ties with Brazil” he adds.
The diplomat will hold the position of Representative alongside the Arab League while keeping his position as ambassador in Cairo. When he leaves Egypt, the next ambassador will also be appointed to the League, as the organization headquarters are in the Egyptian capital.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
