Iraq's President Jalal Talabani was to make his first foray onto the world stage yesterday at a summit here of South American and Arab nations that many of his fellow Arab leaders have shunned.
Talabani is one of only five of the 22 members of the Arab League to be represented by a head of state at the two-day summit aimed at bringing the two distant regions closer together.
Arab diplomatic sources in Brasilia said the US had pressured several countries to stay away after the hosts turned down a request by Washington for observer status at the summit.
But Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and the heads of state from Algeria, Djibouti and Qatar will also be present to thank Brazil's socialist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for holding the summit.
The Brazilian leader has already hinted at his disappointment at the Arab turnout.
"The king of Jordan or the crown prince of Saudi Arabia go to Europe or the United States to do business. They can also do it here, we have many things that to offer to them," Lula said last week in an interview with French reporters.
"I would have liked to see greater Arab participation at the summit," Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa acknowledged. But he insisted the summit would become a regular event.
The US is closely watching the summit as the final declaration includes a clause, critical of Israel, that will call for the dismantling of all Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a draft copy obtained by reporters.
Israel is to pull out from the Gaza Strip and part of West Bank this year.
Israel is said to be concerned by the summit statement but Mussa said on Monday: "Their worries don't concern me."
Participants are also expected to express opposition to Washington's sanctions against Syria and stress "the right for states and peoples to resist foreign occupation" and the need to "respect Iraq's territorial unity, independence and sovereignty."
Trade issues will also be tackled, although Argentina has aired reservations about Lula's push for increased south-south exchanges, noting that it could come at the expense of other markets.
Arab countries hope that South America will back Egypt's demands for a permanent seat in any reformed UN Security Council. Brazil, in turn, wants Arab support.
But Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, whose country is the most populated in the region, has delegated Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit to represent him at the summit.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, and Morocco's King Mohammed VI, who was received with great pomp in Brasilia last year, have both turned down the invitation.
Tunisia's President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi are also shunning the summit, along with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Committees of experts from the two sides will be set up in a bid to improve trade between the two regions, officials said.
Brazilian diplomats say they hope negotiations will move forward during the summit on a proposed US$450 million Libyan investment in irrigation projects for Brazil's northeastern Bahia state.
Two-way trade between Brazil and Arab countries -- with exports and imports balanced -- totaled US$8.1 billion last year -- a near 50 percent increase over 2003.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS