Bras\u00edlia \u2013 A day after returning from a presidential visit to Israel, Brazil\u2019s Foreign Relations minister Ernesto Ara\u00fajo said this Thursday (4) that president Jair Bolsonaro may visit Arab countries before July this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next few days we will work out a schedule for the president\u2019s visits to Arab countries. We will start with key partner countries of ours and then move on to other ones,\u201d said Ara\u00fajo after sitting in a hearing at the Senate\u2019s Foreign Relations Commission. \u201cWe have made great advances with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the foreign minister, the administration intends to seek out \u201cproficuous partnerships\u201d in bilateral relations. \u201cOur plan is to structure out our ties with any country to the benefit of our independence, autonomy and development, whether it be China, the United States, Israel or the Arab countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the hearing, Ara\u00fajo was questioned whether current Brazilian diplomacy gets in the way of agribusiness. \u201cThe notion that our foreign policy harms agribusiness is being touted and hasn\u2019t materialized in any shape. And I am certain that it will not.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday (2), Brazil\u2019s minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, said Brazil is a friend to Arab and Muslim countries<\/a>. According to her, efforts are underway to keep relations in good standing and increase cooperation in trade. Cristina also said she plans to meet next week with ambassadors from Arab and Islamic countries, in a bid to clear up misgivings stemming from the\u00a0opening of a Brazilian trade office in Jerusalem to work on deals with Israel<\/a>, as announced by Bolsonaro last Sunday.<\/p>\n The minister said the office is a compromise solution instead of the moving of Brazil\u2019s Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem \u2013 which Bolsonaro had pledged to do while campaigning last year. According to Cristina, Arab countries are displeased with the matter, but she said the Agriculture Ministry must work to keep the dialogue going.<\/p>\n The Arab stance<\/strong><\/p>\n Both Palestinians and Israelis claim sovereignty over Jerusalem. The UN and most countries support a two-state solution for the region (Israel and Palestine), whereby the city\u2019s status would be resolved through peace talks.<\/p>\n The announcement of a Brazilian office was ill-received by Palestinians. All Arab countries officially support the two-state solution based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. As a result, as per a decision made during the Arab League Summit in Beirut, 2002, the entire bloc pledges to recognize the State of Israel. Jordan and Egypt are currently the only two Arab countries sustaining diplomatic ties with Israel.<\/p>\n The latest Arab League Summit took place last Sunday (March 31) in Tunis, while Bolsonaro was in Israel. Arab League members reaffirmed their commitment to the independence of Palestine. \u201cWe reiterate our rejection of all unilateral measures to change the legal status of Jerusalem,\u201d Tunisia minister of Foreign Affairs Khemaies Jhinaoui said after the Summit.<\/p>\n *With information from the ANBA Newsroom. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/strong><\/p>\n