Lima – The 3rd Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa), to take place on Monday (1) and Tuesday (2) in Lima, Peru, should include the presence of 12 heads of state and government, according to information disclosed by the Foreign Ministry of Peru on Sunday (30). There should be eight leaders from South America and four Arab ones. The document that they are going to sign, on Tuesday, is practically ready and should refer to the situation in Syria, the Arab country that is undergoing social and political turmoil.
From the Arab world will come the presidents of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki, the emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the president of Lebanon, Michel Sleiman, and the king of Jordan, Abdullah Bin Al-Hussein. The other Arab nations will send ministers, diplomats or vice presidents as their representatives. Among the South American countries, only Venezuela and Suriname will not have their heads of state present.
The presidents of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guiana and Uruguay will be present. Paraguay is not participating due to its political conditions. The country was suspended from the Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations (Unasul) after the lightening impeachment of president Fernando Lugo.
According to the Policy II undersecretary general for the Aspa at the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty), Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis, it is normal for there to be more heads of state from the region in which the meeting is being hosted. She participated in the meeting of high level workers of Ministries of Foreign Relations of Aspa countries, during the General Assembly of the United Nations, last week, in New York. The Aspa statement was discussed as a parallel agenda and, according to the undersecretary, it is 99% ready. On Monday, the ministers of both regions should meet to state their approval. On Tuesday, the heads of state sign it.
According to Reis, the document shows the views of the participating countries regarding the main political themes in the Arab world and in South America. “Regarding Syria, all of us are favourable to a solution that respects integral Syrian territory, but also call for an immediate cease fire, a ceasing of all violence, especially against unarmed civilians,” stated the ambassador. The document is divided into Politics, Economics and Cooperation, and includes several areas, like education, culture and environment.
The diplomat recalls that this is just the third summit and that there has been new impetus in relations between both regions since it (the Aspa) was released in 2005, as an initiative of then Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. "It is a mechanism of great importance to improve cooperation between both regions. Both regions share historic and cultural ties, brought as an asset from the Iberian Peninsula, and these ties were renewed with Arab immigration to Brazil and [to] all the countries of our region,” she said.
She recalled, however, that despite these human ties, there had not been a meeting between both regions. “Since the summit [Aspa] was released, trade has increased by over 100%. Connections have also expanded much with the inauguration of the Emirates and Qatar Airways flights,” said Reis, regarding the establishment of direct flights between the Middle East and South America.
She also mentions other areas in which relations have grown, like cooperation on desertification, the creation of the Bibliaspa (the Library and Centre of South American and Arab Research), the cultural exchange branch of the summit.
Regarding the current moment, Reis recalls the new economic opportunity that is opening. “Many Arab nations have excess liquidity due to oil, and they are traditional investors in Europe and the United States. With the crisis in these regions, the Arabs are seeking new sites for investment and South America is prominent as an extremely healthy environment and as a hub for great attraction of investment,” she finished off.
*Translated by Mark Ament
