São Paulo – Brazil’s minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, gave an emphatic speech this Tuesday (2) in defense of Brazil’s relations with Arab and Muslim countries, after president Jair Bolsonaro announced the opening of a trade office in Jerusalem to work on deals with Israel.
Cristina was quoted in a Ministry statement as saying Brazil is friends with all Arab and Muslim nations, and that she will keep working hard to sustain good ties and broaden cooperation for trade. She also said she’ll meet with ambassadors from those countries next week.
“We will keep working towards that good understanding, those good relations with Arabs, with Muslims, whom we are greatly pleased to engage in trade relations with,” the minister was quoted as saying.
However, Cristina admitted that the Arab countries were displeased with this office in Jerusalem. The sovereignty over the city is disputed between Israel and Palestine, which is an Arab country, and Bolsonaro’s decision goes against Brazilian traditional position over the matter.
“We must be prepared for everything. I think this business office is a compromise, not an embassy there. We know about the animosity in the region, but Brazil is friendly with every country, and in the commercial area we have a great importance in the Arab world, the Islamic world. We must continue these conversations,” stressed the minister, according to the release.
Cristina concluded, “For me, as minister and part of the productive sector, a supporter of this relation, we will keep making our trade cooperation with the Arab world bigger and stronger.”
Translated by Guilherme Miranda & Gabriel Pomerancblum
