Brasília – The Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is getting ready to open the session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York, United States in late September. Just like last year, Rousseff will be in the spotlight, this time because she will be the first woman ever to kick off the summit. However, the president’s international travel schedule also includes visits to Peru, Guinea Bissau, and Spain.
Last year, while attending the UN General Assembly, Rousseff spoke in favour of the State of Palestine, peace in the Middle East, and the Libyan opposition – at the time, the crisis in the country had peaked. The president also met with several heads of state and government.
For the time being, Rousseff has not confirmed her attendance to the inauguration of the Dominican Republic’s president-elect Danilo Medino, due on August 16. She may send representatives to the solemnity.
In the first week of October in Peru, the president will attend the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa) and meet with the Peruvian president, Ollanta Humala, who visited Brazil last year, shortly after being elected. Aspa is a political cooperation mechanism meant to bring leaders from both regions closer together.
The Aspa was first proposed by the former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2003, and established in 2005. The group comprises 34 countries from South America and the Arab world. Syria, which is into its 17th month of crisis and being targeted by international sanctions, is also a member of Aspa. Brazil is the group’s regional coordinator for South America. Bilateral trade between the two regions amounts to US$ 30 billion according to 2009 figures.
Rousseff should attend the Africa-South America Summit (ASA) next November in the city of Malabo, Guinea Bissau. Late last year, during a trip Malabo, the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations Antonio Patriota stated that the international economic crisis has revealed the potential of countries outside the United States-Europe axis.
There are 37 embassies for African nations in Brazil, making it the country with the highest number of African representations in South America. There are also 33 South American embassies in the country. The Africa-South America Summit represents nearly one third of the world’s territory and one fifth of the population. According to Patriota, trade between the two regions amounted to US$ 32.2 billion last year alone.
The 22nd Iberian-American Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held on November 16th and 17th in Cadiz, Spain. Initially, Rousseff is expected to attend. Freedom and democracy, both of which are topics of interest to the Brazilian government, will be discussed at the summit.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
