Brasília, March 30, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended, yesterday (29), international cooperation as the best means to guarantee world peace. "The price of collective security is solidarity, and the price of international security is cooperation," he emphasized. During his speech at a dinner in honor of the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, Lula also lamented the March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid, Spain, and reiterated Brazil's fight to combat international violence.

In the Brazilian President's opinion, multilateralism has a fundamental role to play in the solution of major global problems. Lula underscored Ireland's role in the war on terror and said that, just as Ireland managed to overcome this evil, the European Union, under the command of Ireland, will be able to combat violence. (Until the end of this semester, Ireland temporarily occupies the rotating presidency of the European economic bloc.) "The European Union is determined to react with a firm and united voice," Lula stressed.

The Brazilian President took advantage of the dinner to ask the Irish authorities for their support in the revision of rules imposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on international trade relations. "Rules which, as in the case of the millionaire agricultural subsidies in the wealthy countries, do not favor the reduction of the enormously disparate levels of development observed in the bosom of the international community," he completed.

In an optimistic tone, Lula said that McAleese's visit will give a fillip to bilateral trade, as well as strengthening relations between the Mercosur and the European Union. The Irish President has been in Brazil since Friday (26), accompanied by an entourage of entrepreneurs who intend to increase their investments in the country. In 2003 Ireland invested around US$ 388 million in Brazil.

Lula also availed himself of the opportunity to ask the Irish for help in the war on hunger. According to the Brazilian President, Ireland is currently one of the developed countries that most allot resources to Third World countries.

McAleese was unstinting in her praises of the Brazilian President's hunger alleviation policy. In her opinion, Lula's leadership and the proposal for a Global Fund to Combat Hunger will induce various international leaders to participate in this cause. "His war on hunger marks Brazil's influence on the international agenda," the Irish President observed.

Translator: David Silberstein