San Tome, July 26, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Africa today for the purpose of establishing even closer diplomatic relations with the continent. In addition to transferring the temporary presidency of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) to San Tome and Principe, the Brazilian President wants to foster trade relations with this country, as well as Gabon and Cape Verde, two other stops on his third trip to the continent.
The Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, who is accompanying the President, observed that the three countries can become important "windows of opportunity" for increasing Brazil's trade relations with Africa. And he underscored President Lula's decision to open new embassies on the continent.
Amorim added that Brazil will soon have diplomatic representation in Ethiopia, where the headquarters of the African Union is located. "One cannot desire a policy of closer relations with Africa without diplomatic representation in the country that hosts the African Union," the Minister pointed out.
Gabon, for example, is a "very well placed" country for Brazil to establish or improve relations with other African nations, in Amorim's view. The Minister also recalled the geographic location of Cape Verde, an African country which, in his opinion, can become "a center for the diffusion of Brazilian actions."
Besides the creation of new diplomatic posts, the Brazilian government will also open a branch of the Bank of Brazil, in Luanda, capital of Angola.
During his African trip, President Lula will inaugurate two telecenters donated by Brazil, the first in San Tome and Principe, and the second, in Cape Verde. Altogether, two servers and nine 18 thin clients (computers without hard drives) were sent to Africa.
In San Tome the Brazilian President will also announce the authorization of US$ 650 thousand for bilateral cooperation programs developed between the two countries. Various programs are also underway in the health and agriculture areas, although the main ones are in the field of education, where they serve a total of two thousand people.
During his visit to the country, President Lula will donate approximately 60 kilos of medications that make up the Aids treatment cocktail. San Tome is one of the few developing countries in Africa with a low incidence of this disease. The medicine donated by the Brazilian government will be sufficient to treat all the Aids victims in the country, around 100 individuals.
Reporters: Juliana Cézar and Ana Maria Rocha
Translator: David Silberstein
