São Paulo – Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate launched the Brazil-Lebanon Parliamentary Front and the Brazil-Lebanon Parliamentary Group, respectively. The goal of the bodies is to expand diplomatic, commercial, and cultural relations between the two countries, in addition to promoting partnerships and facilitating the sending of resources from Brazil to Lebanon. According to a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Lebanese community in Brazil comprises around seven million descendants.
According to the president of the parliamentary front in the Chamber of Deputies, representative Joaquim Passarinho (PL, Pará), the purpose of creating the parliamentary front and group is to expand relations with Lebanon and help the Arab country by sending resources and essential items.
“We will hold some events not only here at the embassy but also at the consulates in the Brazilian states so we can involve the Lebanese community more in this aid, mainly humanitarian, financial, and commercial to work between Brazil and Lebanon,” said the congressman (opening picture, next to the Lebanese ambassador, Carla Jazzar).
Passarinho also stated the front intends to work to facilitate the sending of funds from descendants living in Brazil to their families in Lebanon. “The idea is that, based on this exchange, friendship, and partnership between the two countries, we can take advantage of this moment Lebanon is experiencing, in need of this international aid; we can, as a humanitarian activity, facilitate the sending not just of resources, but medication, food, whatever Lebanon needs. The idea behind it is to be a communicator between the Lebanese community, through its Embassy, and the legislation we need to pass in Congress together with the Lebanese government,” said the congressman.
The Lebanese ambassador to Brazil, Carla Jazzar, stated the launch of the Brazil-Lebanon Parliamentary Front in the Chamber of Deputies “is far above any political, religious, or ideological difference” noting the Front’s opening document had the signatures of 201 representatives, above necessary, and with members of all parties.
“Unlike traditional friendship groups, where there is a relationship between the two parliaments, the Front has a broader role. She intends to strengthen further ties between the two countries in all spheres, whether trade, culture, or cooperation, and exchange of experiences and knowledge. It will undoubtedly facilitate technological exchange and align the Brazilian and Lebanese Congresses like never before,” she said. Jazzar also said the initiatives at the moment are “proof” of Brazil’s solidarity with Lebanon.
According to information from the Government of the Federal District, the launch ceremony of the parliamentary group and front, held on August 2 at the Senate, was attended by, among several guests, Jazzar; the dean of the Council Arab Ambassadors to Brazil and ambassador of Palestine, Ibrahim Alzeben; the former Supreme Court justice, Marco Aurélio Mello; Passarinho; the president of the parliamentary front in the Senate, Nelsinho Trad (PSD, Mato Grosso do Sul); the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador Carlos Duarte; and the secretary of International Relations of the Government of the Federal District, Paco Britto.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
