Rio de Janeiro – The group of Saudi students that came to Brazil on an exchange trip ended their visit to Brazil on Monday (4). The last official activity of the programme was at Itamaraty Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, where the youths delivered letters to king Abdullah, of Saudi Arabia, to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff and to the secretary general of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki Moon.
In the documents, the participants presented proposals for joint activities between youths in both countries in the areas of eradication of poverty, environment and promotion of events. “We want to include youths in trade, political and cultural delegations. This is a beneficial element for bilateral relations,” says the letter turned to the heads of state.
Another proposal is the opening of opportunities for Brazilian and Saudi youths to participate in the organisation of great events in both countries, like the World Cup and the Olympics, to take place in Brazil, and the Janadriyah Festival for culture and arts, which takes place yearly in Saudi Arabia.
Promotion of student and teacher exchange was another suggestion presented. “The world speaks different languages, economists have different language from that of scientists and leaders also have their own language, but youths speak just one language, that of a better future,” ends the letter to the UN secretary general.
At the Itamaraty, the students met Carlos Gonçalves de Oliveira, head of the Middle East Division at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, and Luiz Carlos de Carvalho, chief advisor for Trade and Investment at the Chief of Staff’s Office of Rio de Janeiro state.
Visits
On Sunday (03), they youths went up Cantagalo, in Ipanema, where they visited the Criança Esperança (Child Hope) Space, maintained by Unesco and Globo TV, where they were introduced to the several educational and cultural programs.
Cantagalo and Pavão-Pavãozinho slums, which are neighbours, were pacified one year and a half ago and house 18,000 people. The Military Police has a Police Pacification Unit (UPP) in Cantagalo, where 182 officers work on shifts.
On Monday morning, part of the delegation visited Guanabara Palace, the seat of the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, where they met Pedro Spadale, the state undersecretary for Foreign Relations. At the meeting, the Saudis learnt about some of the social programs promoted in Rio.
“I was very pleased and surprised to see how we were able to communicate with Brazilian youths. The experience we had in São Paulo, in Manaus and in Rio was incredible. The letters are to show how we integrated with the people here,” said student Arwa Almunajjed. “What I feel is that we must not have stereotypes of others and that others should not establish stereotypes of us. It is much better when we can visit and learn about each other,” finished off AlBaraa Taibah.
“Many of them will be leaders in future,” said Yousef Al Saadon, deputy minister for Economic and Cultural Affairs at the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia and head of the delegation. “It is an opportunity for them to see what other people have done that is good and also to transfer something good,” he pointed out.
*Translated by Mark Ament
