Brasília, March 19, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, arrived yesterday (18) in Ankara, capital of Turkey. He will visit the country until Saturday (20) as official guest of the Turkish government and has meetings scheduled with Turkish President Ahmet Necnet Sezer and Chancellor Abdullah Gül.

Amorim is the first Brazilian Foreign Minister to visit Turkey. According to a note from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, the visit is designed to probe the potential for expanding relations between the two countries, which are similar in their levels of development. The Ministry informs that the topics that will be discussed at the meetings include items on the bilateral and international agenda, such as cooperation in the area of science and technology, the aerospace industry, tourism, and defense.

Translator: David Silberstein