Brasília, 11/10/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - After seven days and five countries, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared that he was leaving Africe with a clean conscience and a sense of having done his duty. He said he felt certain he was keeping his campaign promise to strengthen relations with Africa. "I was very pleased to find out that during the 11 months I have been in office more ministers and Brazilians have visited Africa than in all of the last four years," he said, adding that his administration was pursuing foreign policy consonant with its beliefs.

Lula said Brazil was working to expand ties to important markets in India, China and Russia, while keeping in mind the need to unite forces with other developing nations.

In a speech at the side of South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, Lula once again attacked protectionism in developed nations, saying it was essential for developing nations to unite in negotiations at the World Trade Organization. "We do not seek to overwhelm anyone. In our view, good trade relations have to be a two-way street where countries import as well as export and no one country has a huge trade surplus. Trade should benefit the business sector, workers, and the government," he said.

In his speech Lula cited lyrics by the late Brazilian singer-composer, Raul Seixas, "...a dream you dream alone is just a dream. A dream everyone dreams will become reality," and went on to say he was working to make understanding and good relations a reality between Brazil and the Third World, developing nations, the South, Africa and the people of South Africa.

Questioned about the short time he was spending in Africa, Lula said that he had found out that many of the good things in life do not necessarily come in big packages. "I would really like to spend a week in South Africa," he said, "but, on the other hand, I doubt that any 50-hour meeting would produce more than we produced here today." (AB)