Doha – The Business Forum and 2nd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), held from March 29th to 31st in Doha, took the spotlight in the Qatari press. This Wednesday (1st), The Peninsula, the main English language newspaper in the country, bears the headline “Summit looks to shared future,” including pictures of the Qatari emir, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, with the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, and of the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, with Al Thani’s wife, Mozah Bit Nasser Al Missned.
The newspaper highlights the speech made by the emir, in which he talked about the importance of expanding relations between the two regions. Al Thani stated that other efforts turned to South-South cooperation have already occurred in the past, but were frustrated by “local and international” interventions during the Cold War. “Now, the Cold War is over. It is time to rebuild that bridge,” he said. “Avenues have been opened for new cooperation efforts,” he added.
The Qatari press gave special attention to Hugo Chávez. The Peninsula reports that the Arab journalists, gathered at the pressroom of the Sheraton Hotel, enthusiastically applauded when the emir asked the Venezuelan president to deliver his speech. In fact, even though it was by far the longest speech of the day, many local press representatives did not take their eyes off of the TV screens that were broadcasting Chávez’ speech live, and applauded each of his many catch phrases.
In addition to a significant part of the first page, the summit took up nearly all of the space in page two, with four news stories entitled: "Arab, South American countries to forge stronger relations," "[Summit’s final] Declaration reflects close bonds," "South American nations back Arab stand on Palestine," and "Call for cooperation."
Television channels Al Jazeera and Al Jazeera English, which belong to the government of Qatar, broadcast a comprehensive coverage during the entire day, with live appearances by interviewees commenting on the summit, among them the president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin. This Wednesday, one day after the event, the secretary general of the organisation, Michel Alaby, participated in a show on the channel called Inside Story.
The Business Forum that preceded the summit was also a highlight. On March 30th, The Peninsula published three stories on the subject, taking up half a page and including an interview with the Arab Brazilian Chamber president, entitled "Middle East trade with Brazil on the rise." In its following edition, the newspaper returned to the theme with another half a page, now containing two stories, one featuring a balance of the forum, and the other presenting the summit that was to take place on that day.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
