Alexandre Rocha, special envoy*
Brasília – The secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amr Mussa, stated today (4) that he believes the summit of Arab and South American countries will be a success. "We want it to be a great success and to be fruitful for both sides," he said, during a talk to students at the Rio Branco Institute, the Brazilian academy for diplomats, in Brasília.
According to him, the idea of organizing the summit was received with great enthusiasm by the Arab leaders since president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva presented the proposal for the first time, during his visit to five Arab countries, in December 2003.
Mussa pointed out that the objective of the meeting is to make both regions work together in the search for common interests. The secretary general is going to meet the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim and president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The main topic to be discussed should be the final preparation of the summit.
*Translated by Mark Ament
