São Paulo – The Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad, will arrive in Brazil today (29th) for his first visit to the country, in return for president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s trip to the country in 2003. Syria was the first Arab country visited by Lula. Wednesday, Assad will attend meetings in the Brazilian capital Brasília, including a meeting with his Brazilian colleague.
The two should discuss regional and international matters, especially conflict in the Middle East. In an interview published last Sunday by newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, Assad claimed that Brazil may help out with the peace process between his country and Israel, and that he is going to address the subject with Lula.
In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel occupied the Golan Heights, formerly part of the Syrian territory, and the region remains annexed until this day. The two countries have promoted rounds of negotiation on the matter but did not reach an agreement. The last attempt, mediated by Turkey, took place in 2008.
Assad told newspaper Estado that the role of president Lula, alongside Turkey, in the negotiation of an agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear program, has taken Brazilian influence on the Middle East to a new level.
Apart from the Golan issue, Syria is strategically important to the resolution of conflict in the region, as it has influence on Lebanese and Palestinian movements, in addition to having a large number of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees in its territory.
With regard to bilateral matters, according to information supplied by the head of the Middle East Department at the Itamaraty (Brazilian foreign ministry), Sarkis Karmirian, and by the chargés d’affaires at the Syrian embassy in Brasília, Ghassan Obeid, the two heads of state will sign agreements and exchange national medals.
The content of the agreements was still being finished this afternoon, but according to a release issued by the Itamaraty, the presidents should discuss topics such as legal, educational and healthcare-related cooperation.
Also on Wednesday, after visiting the National Congress, Assad will head to São Paulo, where a cocktail party will be offered by the Syrian government at Club Homs, a traditional institution located on Paulista Avenue. Syrians and their descendents comprise the second largest community of Arab origin in Brazil, after the Lebanese.
On the following day, the Syrian president is going to visit the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital and meet with the board of directors of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The president of the organization, Salim Taufic Schahin, stated that he intends to talk about bilateral efforts to expand relations in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and culture, the four pillars that the Arab Brazilian Chamber develops right now.
According to data supplied by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade exports from Brazil to Syria generated US$ 303 million in revenues last year, representing growth of 7.76% over 2008. From January until May 2010, Brazilian shipments totalled US$ 148.5 million, growth of 96% over the same period of 2009.
Assad should also visit Rio de Janeiro, and on June 2 he should head to Argentina. His trip to Brazil is part of a tour of Latin America. He has been to Venezuela and to Cuba.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
