Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Relations between Arab and South American nations have advanced significantly in recent years, but there is still space for further growth. This was one of the thoughts that guided the first day of meetings of Foreign Ministers and representatives of both regions, yesterday (20), in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital. "Trade and investment between both regions has grown in recent years, boosting the economies of Arab and South American nations. However, they have not yet reached the potential they may have," stated the Foreign Minister of Argentina, Jorge Taiana, at the opening of the meeting, at San Martin Palace.
The secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amr Mussa, who participated in the meeting, also pointed out the growth of cultural exchange in recent years in his address and recalled the greater volume of trade between the Arab world and South America, and with Brazil. Last year, bilateral trade between Brazil and the Arab countries exceeded US$ 13.5 billion, an increase of 12%, according to figures by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Mussa stated, according to Telam, the official Argentine news agency, that South America exported mainly commodities to the Arabs, mostly commodities and manufactured products of agricultural origin and imported fuels, fertilizers and sulphur from the region.
The minister of Foreign Relations of Brazil, Celso Amorim, pointed out, according to Telam, that this meeting in Buenos Aires marks the definitive consolidation of the closer ties between Arabs and South Americans. The Argentine Foreign Minister recalled, however, that there are still pending matters in the trade area to be solved for greater commercial and economic integration. Taiana stated that bi-regional dialogue for cooperation in the area of energy, for example, should be a priority for both regions. "In South America this is a question of the highest priority, over which we are making private efforts. And the Arab countries are central players in the international energy equation," stated the Argentinean.
Another theme present in most of the addresses of the diplomats was the cooperation in multilateral areas. The matter was defended by the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Saud Al-Faisal. He spoke about the need to activate multilateralism and about the necessity for reforms in the United Nations to overcome bottlenecks that currently bar foreign relations. The Argentine Taiana said that both regions should join forces for the Doha Rounds, so that there are no more concessions to developed countries. Amorim said that barriers between both regions should be broken for trade relations not to take place only through the point of view of richer nations.
For peace
One of the central points of the meeting, however, was the peace process in the Middle East, mainly in Palestine. The Arab and South American ministers defended the establishment of a definite solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict. "You should know that in South America you have a community of friendly nations prepared to cooperate to reach this peace," stated the Argentine Foreign Minister. The Saudi prince stated that it is not possible to tolerate the expansion of Israeli colonies and the humiliation of the collective punishment to which the Palestinian people have been exposed.
Amorim also stated that peace is the main objective and that a definite solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is necessary. All diplomats stated that they repudiate terrorism and Amr Mussa added that closer ties between both regions are beneficial specifically to avoid the shock between civilizations in the East and West. He mentioned and also praised the part currently played by countries like Spain, Portugal and Turkey as nations fighting against extremism.
Today (21) the Foreign Ministers and representatives of the 34 nations – 12 South American and 22 Arab – should continue their meeting. They are going to present, at the end, the Declaration of Buenos Aires, a document showing the advances that have already been obtained in the relations of both regions since the Summit of Arab and South American Countries, which took place in Brazil in May 2005, and also plans for the future of these relations.
*Translated by Mark Ament
