Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Celso Amorim, participated in a meeting on March 26 in Marrakesh, Morocco, to work out the final details for the Summit Meeting of South American and Arab Heads of State and Government.
The meeting will be held in Brasília on May 10-11, chiefly for the purpose of promoting cooperation between the two regions.
34 representatives of Arab and South American countries attended the Morocco meeting. Most of them were foreign ministers.
Upon his return to Brazil, Amorim declared that the summit “is already having a big impact on economic, cultural, and scientific relations, and its impact will become even greater.”
The Minister recalled that the initiative to hold a summit came from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Affirming that the ties between Brazil and the Arab countries have been growing closer, Amorim pointed out that Brazil’s exports to the Arab countries have increased 50% this year.
“Investment prospects are vast; we are witnessing a new reality in the making,” the Chancellor remarked. Amorim was also in Algeria, where he was a special guest at an Arab League summit meeting.
According to the Itamaraty (Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations), cooperation moves between Brazil and Morocco have been advancing. There have been frequent visits in recent years by Moroccan government officials to Brazil and by Brazilian missions to Morocco.
Prior to King Mohammed VI’s visit in November, 2004, Morocco’s Chancellor, Mohammed Benaissa, came to Brazil, in April of the same year.
During the King’s visit, a Cooperation Agreement was signed between the two countries’ schools for diplomats, and a Technical Cooperation Agreement was signed in the area of Tourism.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil