Brasília, April 12, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mohamed Benaïssa, will be received today by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to whom he will deliver a message from the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI. Benaïssa will also meet with Brazilian Ministers Celso Amorim (Foreign Relations), Gilberto Gil (Culture), and Luiz Fernando Furlan (Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade).

At a dinner which will be offered tonight by the Brazilian Chancellor, the two Ministers will go over details of the South America-Arab Nations summit meeting scheduled for December in Brazil, as well as the possibility of increasing exchanges in the trade sphere.

Over the past 20 years, there has been a substantial growth in the shipment of Moroccan products to Brazil. In 1984, Brazil imported products worth US$ 10 million from Morocco. In 2003, Brazilian ports received US$ 202 million in phosphorus acids, sardines, and olive oil from Morocco, together with 49 other Moroccan products. In return, Brazil exported US$ 226 million worth of products, mainly wheat, soy oil, and raw sugar, to Morocco in 2003.

Translator: David Silberstein