DOHA: South American and Arab leaders yesterday sought to forge a common alliance to confront the global financial crisis ahead of the G-20 summit of industrialized nations.
Leaders of the 22-member Arab League and 12 South American states staged their second summit in four years in the Qatari capital, aiming to create political and economic fronts.
“We must learn from the errors that have occurred in past crises and show ... our citizens that the South American and Arab nations are walking together,” Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told the gathering.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva noted that the Doha summit came two days before the London G-20 summit which is due to “confront an unprecedented economic crisis.”
“The world will follow carefully to see if South America and the Arab countries are capable of taking measures to prevent the financial crisis from becoming a social and political earthquake,” he said.
Lula said the Doha gathering provided leaders with “an extraordinary opportunity” to endorse proposals for “the reform of international organizations.”
“This is the only way for countries that have contributed the most to the financial crisis, the deterioration of the environment, trade imbalance and collective insecurity to assume their responsibilities,” he said.
Lula said trade between the two groups expanded from $11 billion in 2004 to $30 billion last year. “Latin American countries have entered into negotiations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as Egypt and Jordan, in order to reach free-trade agreements,” he said.
The Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay — signed an agreement with GCC states at the summit on completion of their free-trade negotiations. They hoped that a free-trade agreement would be signed shortly.
Saudi Arabia is the only Arab state that will join emerging countries at the summit of leaders of the Group of 20 most industrialized and developing nations, which will also be attended by Brazil and Argentina. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who led the Saudi delegation to the Arab summit, left later for London to attend the G-20 meeting.
South American and Arab leaders hope to make progress toward forming an economic partnership and a political alliance in global institutions, diplomats said.
Among the South American representatives attending are eight heads of state, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Chavez sought Arab support for his idea of a new oil-backed currency to challenge the US dollar. “A new world is being born. Empires fall. There is a world crisis of capitalism, it’s shaking the planet,” Chavez told Venezuelan state radio after arriving here.
Regional issues, such as deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the international arrest warrant facing Sudanese President Omar Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur, were also raised by South American leaders.
The International Criminal Court warrant is “a judicial horror and a disrespect to the people of the Third World,” Chavez said.
“Why don’t they order the arrest of (former US President George W.) Bush, why don’t they order the arrest of the Israeli President (Shimon Peres)?” he asked.
