São Paulo – Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva should make a positive evaluation of the closer ties with the nations of the Middle East and North Africa at the 2nd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), to take place in Doha, Qatar, on the 31st. This information was provided by ambassador Gilberto Moura, head of the Department of Regional Mechanisms of the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty) and a member of the Brazilian government delegation to participate in the event.
Lula is the Aspa regional coordinator for South America and the initiative was his brainchild. The first edition of the summit even took place in Brazilian capital Brasília, in 2005. According to Moura, at the opening of the meeting the Brazilian president should make a positive evaluation of the advances in biregional relations over the last four years, of the action plans created, of what has already been executed and of what still needs to be implemented.
Figures supplied by Planalto Palace, the seat of the government of Brazil, show that 15 meetings have taken place between ministers and high-level employees of governments in both regions since the summit. There were also meetings about the economy, culture, science and technology, diplomacy, social policies and environment and cooperation programs were started in these areas.
In the case of Brazil, trade relations with the Arab world rose from US$ 8.2 billion in 2004, the year prior to the summit, to US$ 20.2 billion in 2008, growth of 150%.
"[The presentation of the president] should be a positive evaluation, as the Aspa has been complying with one of its main functions, the generation of closer ties," stated Moura. According to Planalto Palace, Lula should be seated at the main table of the summit, alongside the emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, who is currently occupying the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations (Unasul), and the secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amr Mussa.
The meeting should take place after the Summit of the Arab League, also to take place in Doha. For this reason the massive presence of heads of state and government of the Arab countries is expected. According to Moura, the South American side should be represented by most of its presidents. The meeting also takes place two days prior to the G-20 Summit, scheduled to take place on April 2nd, in London.
In this respect, current themes on the international agenda should play an important part in the Aspa debates, especially questions like the international financial crisis, the theme of the G-20 meeting, of which Brazil, Argentina and Saudi Arabia are part, and the conflicts of the Middle East, mainly the question of Palestine, to be one of the main matters of the summit of the Arab League, as well as the reform of multilateral institutions like the United Nations (UN).
Lula should travel in the company of the minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, and of the executive secretary at the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Ivan Ramalho.
Forum
Prior to the summit there should be, in Doha, the Brazil-Arab Countries Trade Forum, which should include 132 participants on the Arab side and 114 on the South American side. Among the Brazilian companies to participate are large groups like Marcopolo (vehicles), Randon (vehicles), Odebrecht (building and petrochemicals), Andrade Gutierrez (building), Embraer (aviation), Avibrás (defence), Vale do Rio Doce (mining), Petrobras and the Bank of Brazil. The representatives of Marcopolo, Randon and Vale are going to discuss the company experiences in the Arab world.
The presence of Brazilian businessmen was organized by the embassy of Brazil to Doha, the Itamaraty and the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Arab Brazilian Chamber president Salim Taufic Schahin, and the organisation’s secretary general, Michel Alaby, should be speakers at the seminar.
*Translated by Mark Ament
