New York, September 24, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - A few hours after the Presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the United States, George W. Bush, presented addresses to open the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly, they met at a luncheon offered by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. They both cast their differences aside and made use of the time together to discuss matters of mutual interest.

The chief item of conversation had to do with the resumption of talks begun in Cancún, at the Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization. According to the Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, Lula told Bush that he was very surprised by the position adopted by the United States. "The positions that we defended, in their vast majority, were the same ones they used to defend in the recent past," Amorim affirmed.

One of the main issues that needs to be resolved concerns the elimination of agricultural subsidies practiced by the wealthy countries. According to Amorim, the Presidents agreed on the importance of resuming the negotiations, which were paralyzed mostly in consequence of the disagreements between the group of rich countries and the group of developing countries, for whom the Doha round is not viewed as a lost cause.

The same conclusion was reached, as well, during the meeting with the German Chancellor, Gerard Schröder. "It is important to remember that Germany negotiates through the European Union and has a great interest in making progress on this agenda. The Chancellor also supports the strengthening of multilateralism," the Minister affirmed. President Lula availed himself of the opportunity to reiterate his invitations to Bush and Schröder to visit Brazil. The dates of the trips were left undetermined.

SECURITY COUNCIL

According to Amorim, the German Chancellor wants to expand trade with Brazil and affirmed his interest in making the technology of alcohol-powered vehicles available in his country. A German mission is already in Brazil looking into this possibility. Besides matters of trade, the leaders discussed UN reform. Brazil had just won a vote of confidence from another European country - minutes before, French President Jacques Chirac had offered his backing. "Schröder defended the inclusion of three more developing countries as members of the Security Council and confided that, certainly, one of the seats will be occupied by us," Amorim informed.

In addition to these encounters, the Brazilian President also met with Latin American leaders and with the President of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano. Since Lula's trip to Africa, scheduled for November, is drawing close, the meeting had to do mainly with enlarging Brazil's presence in that country. "They discussed the implantation of a factory to produce anti-retrovirus drugs, as well as more specific matters, such as bidding for the right to work the country's coal mines, in which the Rio Doce Valley Company has a great interest," the Minister concluded.

On Wednesday, Lula begins the day with the President of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner. Then he has lunch at Ambassador Ronaldo Sardemberg's house, where the creation of the International Fund to Combat Poverty will be discussed. The President will also speak with Nigerian leaders, and, at night, he will have dinner with the Presidents of South Africa and India. (DAS)