Bras\u00edlia \u2013 President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva called today (30th) for the entry of Syria in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). \u201cWe defend the end of hurdles stunting the country\u2019s entry in the WTO,\u201d said Lula during a luncheon offered to his Syrian colleague, Bashar Al Assad, at Itamaraty Palace, the seat of the Brazilian foreign office, in Brazilian capital Bras\u00edlia. Assad is on an official visit to Brazil.<\/p>\n
The government of the United States has lifted its veto on the country\u2019s entry in the organisation. Syria applied for a seat in 2001. Despite the end of the US veto, the country still maintains unilateral sanctions against Damascus.<\/p>\n
The sanctions were imposed during the term in office of former president George W. Bush and directly affect one of the main reform policies of the government in Damascus, which is the economic opening process that has been under implementation for the last 10 years.<\/p>\n
Lula pointed out that the \u201ccapacity to overcome barriers and share experiences is the main booster of our relations.\u201d He added that Assad\u2019s trip confirms a partnership launched in 2003, when the Brazilian president visited Damascus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an alliance based on solid figures. Trade has grown fourfold and now reaches US$ 300 million,\u201d he said. \u201cThe tendency is for growth in a multilateral system with trade that is more representative of the wishes of the developing world,\u201d he added. That is the reason for defence of the entry of Syria in the WTO.<\/p>\n
Lula also said that the establishment of the Brazil-Syria Business Council \u201copens opportunities to multiply trade and stimulate investment\u201d. The council, which is being formed, is presided, on the Brazilian side, by Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/b> president Salim Taufic Schahin.<\/p>\n
Assad, in turn, said that in the closed meeting he had with Lula he suggested the establishment of a free trade agreement between his country and the Mercosur. The South American bloc is already negotiating similar treaties with several Arab countries, and the most advanced talks are being developed with Egypt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was one of the points I discussed with president Lula and I believe that it may help expand bilateral relations as well as those between Syria and Latin America in general,\u201d said the Syrian president. Today, both governments signed agreements in the legal, agricultural, health and technical cooperation areas.<\/p>\n
Mediation<\/b><\/p>\n
Assad seized the opportunity to give thanks for the Brazilian stances regarding conflict in the Middle East, against war in Iraq, for the establishment of the Palestinian state, in the negotiation of an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, and in supporting the returning of Golan Heights to Syria. The territory was occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War, in 1967.<\/p>\n
Regarding the agreement negotiated by Brazil and Turkey with Iran, in May, Assad claimed that it is a \u201ccrucial point\u201d for solving the issue of the Iranian nuclear programme through negotiation, without a war. \u201c[The agreement] has paved the way to a pacific solution,\u201d he said. The treaty, however, has not prevented the UN Security Council from imposing new sanctions on Iran.<\/p>\n
The Syrian president added that his country has made efforts to make peace with Israel and solve the Golan impasse, and that the latest attempt was made with the intermediation of Turkey, in late 2008. \u201cBut Israel always poses an obstacle,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n
Lula\u2019s special advisor for international affairs, Marco Aur\u00e9lio Garcia, said in an interview that the two heads of state discussed the Golan issue at the meeting. He believes Brazil may play a part in the negotiation, because it supports the Syrian proposal of trading territories for peace, i.e., the returning of the region would lead relations with Israel back to normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are confident that the proposal is perfectly acceptable for the Israeli government,\u201d said Garcia. He added that the Israeli prime-minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, should come to Brazil in August and that \u201cthis will be a good occasion for furthering the dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n
To the journalists, Lula only said that the meeting with the Syrian president \u201cwas extraordinary.\u201d \u201cI believe that a lot is about to happen in the world, and we want to take part in it,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
Earlier, over luncheon, Lula stated once again that Brazil wants to \u201cbe a partner\u201d in the Middle East peace process. In that respect, he claimed that Syria is \u201cof utmost importance in the quest for pacification.\u201d According to Garcia, the two presidents agreed that there must be unity among Palestinians in order for peace to be achieved with Israel. Syria, according to him, has influence on Palestinian groups and may help their rival factions, Fattah and Hamas, to reach and agreement.<\/p>\n
Garcia also claimed that Brazil is expected to continue encouraging negotiation in the Middle East. Assad also called for a permanent seat for Brazil in the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Mark Ament and Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Brazilian president said today to his Syrian colleague, Bashar Al Assad, in Bras\u00edlia, that he wants ‘the end of hurdles\u2019 to the country\u2019s entry in the organisation. Assad is visiting Brazil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1454,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-foreign-affairs"},"wps_subtitle":"The Brazilian president said today to his Syrian colleague, Bashar Al Assad, in Bras\u00edlia, that he wants 'the end of hurdles\u2019 to the country\u2019s entry in the organisation. Assad is visiting Brazil.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35125\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}