São Paulo – Brazilian diplomats and Arab League officials came together this Thursday at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, in the capital Brasília, for the first meeting of the Political Consultations Mechanism involving Brazil and the League. “Information was exchanged, as well as analyses of the regional political scenarios [in the Arab world and Latin America], and bilateral affairs were discussed,” said the Foreign Ministry’s undersecretary general for Africa and the Middle East, Fernando de Abreu, who led the Brazilian entourage at the event.
According to him, the agenda included the Syrian crisis, the Libyan, Yemeni and Iraqi scenarios, the transition in Tunisia, the threat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the nuclear agreement signed on to by Iran, and the sway the Persian country holds in the Middle East. For Abreu, the input from the Arab League officials showed that the Brazilian Foreign Ministry is up to speed on the latest developments across the Arab world. “Fortunately, our embassies are keeping us well posted,” he asserted.
When it came to Latin America, on the other hand, the Arab diplomats wanted to learn especially about the situation in Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba and the workings of Mercosur. The Arab League’s delegation was led by its assistant secretary general for Political Affairs, Fadel Jawad Kadhum.
Bilateral topics included talks for a visit of the League’s new secretary-general Ahmed Aboul-Gheit to Brazil in the near future, and the continuation of the League’s representative office in Brasília. The organization is considering pulling its missions out of a few countries. The Brazilian diplomats argued that as far as Brazil is concerned, there is interest in keeping the office open.
Arab League
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Michel Alaby spoke along similar lines. He also had a meeting with Kadhum in Brasília. “I heaped praise on the work done by the League’s office over the past few years and said it is crucial that it stays open, because we do a lot of work in tandem,” said Alaby. The Arab League’s ambassador to Brazil, Nacer Alem, also sat in at the meeting.
Additionally, Alaby discussed the Arab Chamber’s work and the events it hosts, and according to him Kadhum claimed to be interested in increasing exports from Arab countries to Brazil, and investments from Brazil in the Middle East and North Africa.
The CEO stressed that next October, the Arab Chamber plans on having a business forum for Brazil and Arab countries, and called upon the League to appoint a representative to provide an economic and political overview of the region during the event. He remarked that the Chamber is the sole Brazilian organization authorized by the Arab League to issue export certificates for Arab countries. The idea of holding a forum of chambers of commerce in Brazil was also floated.
The Political Consultations Mechanism for Brazil and the Arab League was established via a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties last year at the United Nations General Assembly. The new body should meet once a year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
