São Paulo – The Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Antonio Patriota, will arrive in Egypt on Saturday (7th) for a two-day visit. The schedule includes meetings with the Egyptian minister of Foreign Business, Nabil El-Araby, the secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amr Moussa, and the Egyptian minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Fayza Aboulnaga.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Relations stated that Patriota will use the trip to hold talks with the new Egyptian authorities. In February this year, dictator Hosni Mubarak stepped down after several popular demonstrations in Cairo having requested his resignation.
The provisional government announced in March that it will hold parliamentary elections in September. Presidential elections are scheduled for November in Egypt. The Brazilian minister’s talks should address the situation in North Africa and the Middle East. Apart from Mubarak, the president of Tunisia, Zine El Abdine Ben Ali, has stepped down, and Libya is experiencing a civil conflict.
The Brazilian will also discuss with his Egyptian colleagues the developments of Sudan’s division into two countries, the conflict in Darfur, and negotiations for peace between Israel and Palestine.
According to the Itamaraty (Brazilian foreign ministry), Patriota will also address trade and bilateral cooperation between Brazil and Egypt. The visit will not restrict to talks between the two countries only. The League of Arab States, which represents 22 states, is headquartered in Egypt.
Last year, Brazil exported the equivalent of US$ 12.5 billion in products to the Arab nations, 25.3% more than in 2009, when exports to countries in the region generated revenues of US$ 9.39 billion. Sugar and meats are among the products that Brazil sells the most in the region.
Egypt is one of the leading partners of Brazil in the Arab world. Figures supplied by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade show that in 2010, Brazil exported US$ 1.9 billion worth of products to the Egyptians. By March this year, Brazilian exports to the Arab country reached US$ 400.8 million, consisting mainly of soy oil, iron ore, wheat, poultry and beef.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
