DAMASCUS, 3 December 2003 — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva is due to arrive in Syria today for a two-day official visit to boost bilateral relations and trade and meet Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Lula da Silva, who is the first Brazilian president to visit Syria in more than 130 years, will also visit Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Libya as part of a Mideast tour.
One of Silva’s main aims since he came to power in January has been to encourage Brazilian exports to boost a stagnating economy. His entourage will include ministers and about 50 industrialists as well as the former Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde.
Diplomatically, Silva is aiming to gain support for his country’s bid to win a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. He also wants support for his plan for a summit in Rio de Janeiro in May 2004, gathering leaders from Latin America and Arab countries.
Syrian exports to Brazil are mainly oil, cumin, anise and sesame and have increased from 45 million Syrian pounds ($1.01 million) in 1995, to 312 million pounds ($7.04 million) in 2002.
Brazilian exports to Syria include coffee, sugar, printing paper and iron bars, and have increased from 801 million Syrian pounds in 1995 to 3.8 billion pounds in 2002.
Sources at the Ministry of Economy suggested that 12 agreements would be signed with the Brazilian side, including commercial, economic and technical agreements, an agreement to encourage mutual investment, a double taxation agreement, and economic and transport agreements.
