São Paulo – Yesterday (29th), the Egyptian minister of Foreign Relations, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva discussed the importance of the two countries promoting mutual business missions in order to increase bilateral trade, which climbed from US$ 400 million in 2003 to US$ 1.6 billion in 2008. Lula received the Egyptian foreign minister in the Brazilian capital, Brasília.
According to sources in Brasília, the president asserted that there is a very strong potential for expanding trade, and that Brazilian government representatives have been paying several visits to the Arab countries to contribute to the expansion of trade.
Egypt is the third largest market for Brazil in Africa and the second largest among Arab nations. From January to June, exports from Brazil to the country totalled US$ 734.53 million, as against US$ 544.33 million during the same period last year. Iron ore, beef, aircraft and sugar were the main items shipped.
The minister said that his trip is part of the preparations for the visit of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, to Brazil, which should occur before the end of the year. Besides, it is a response to the two visits paid by the Brazilian foreign minister, Celso Amorim, to Egypt this year.
During the meeting, Lula called for the Egyptian government to support the city of Rio de Janeiro as a candidate for hosting the 2016 Olympics, as he has been doing over the last few months in meetings with Arab authorities. Gheit, in turn, gave thanks to the Brazilian support to the Egyptian minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, as a candidate to become the director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
Another matter discussed was Brazilian government support to the Middle East peace process. Lula said that he remains available to contribute to negotiations in the region, and that he has received several authorities from Palestine, Israel and Egypt. Gheit also stated that he agrees with the president of Brazil regarding the need for greater presence of emerging countries in the UN Security Council.
After meeting with Lula, the Egyptian minister met with Amorim. The two signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Rio Branco Institute and the Egyptian diplomatic academy, and another for joint technical cooperation actions to benefit African countries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum