São Paulo – The Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff and Qatar’s emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani have convened in Doha this Wednesday (12th). Rousseff announced that the two countries are establishing a high-level workgroup to focus on common points of interest. According to information supplied by the Brazilian Presidency, the object is to increase cooperation between the two countries in areas such as natural gas, defence, education and infrastructure. Regarding defence, talks are already underway for aircraft sales from Brazil’s Embraer to Qatar.
In a press conference, Rousseff said the two countries sustain excellent relations that hark back 40 years, and can work on even closer cooperation. Gas and fertilizers are the predominant Qatari products imported by Brazil, which in turn exports foodstuffs, among other items. The Brazilian president also said she and Al Thani spoke “at length” about the Middle East’s political scenario and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to information conveyed to ANBA shortly after the meeting by the Brazilian embassy in Doha, Rousseff offered Brazil’s assistance to Qatar in its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Brazil has hosted this year’s edition of the tournament. However, no specific partnership was entered into as pertains to organizing the competition. Qatar plans on having all of its stadiums completed by 2019, three years prior to the Cup, which will take place in Russia in 2018.
The two heads of state also discussed oil exploration in Brazil’s pre-salt layer and gas exploration in Qatar, the world’s third leading gas-producing country according to the International Energy Agency – the first two being the United States and Russia. The high cost of exploring for oil by drilling through rocks, an increasingly widespread process, particularly in the United States, was also discussed by Rousseff and Al Thani.
The Brazilian president’s visit to Qatar was arranged over the past few days as a result of her attending the Summit of the G20, a group of the world’s leading developed and developing economies. The G20 heads of state will meet on Saturday (15th) and Sunday (16th) in Australia. Rousseff’s entourage had to make a layover in a Middle Eastern country prior to arriving in Australia, and the Brazilian president was invited to seize the occasion and pay an official visit to Qatar.
The Brazilian president arrived in Qatar on Tuesday afternoon (11th) and was scheduled to leave this Wednesday (12th) for Australia, where she should arrive early Friday morning (14th). She is travelling alongside the Brazilian minister of External Relations, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, and the special advisor to the Presidency, Marco Aurélio Garcia.
Educational projects
Following her meeting with Al Thani, Rousseff convened with Qatar Foundation chairperson Mozah Bint Nasser, at the organization’s headquarters. According to the Brazilian embassy in Doha, their meeting revolved around education. Rousseff and Nasser discussed the universalization of primary education.
According to information from the Brazilian Presidency’s website, Rousseff stated that the Ciências sem Fronteiras (Science Without Borders) program, whereby the federal government awards scholarship grants for Brazilian students to study abroad, could benefit from an exchange program with Qatar. They also discussed having Brazilian postgraduate researchers work at Qatari universities. Another possibility is for Brazil’s National Library to share documents with Qatar that attest to the influence of Arab culture in Brazil.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
