Venezuela and Other South American Countries Meet with Arab League

[chlamor]

Venezuela and other South American Countries Meet with Arab League

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

By: Jonah Gindin – Venezuelanalysis.com

Caracas, Venezuela, May 11, 2005—Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez joined 11 other Latin American leaders and 22 members of the Arab League in Brazil for the first ever Latin American-Arab conference held in the Brazilian capital.  The conference opened yesterday with remarks by Brazilian President Lucio Ignacio “Lula” da Silva and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who spoke of the importance of building economic and political bridges between the two regions.

“Our biggest challenge is to create a new economic geography and international commerce,” said Lula.  Bouteflika called for a “frank, open and real strategic alliance,” showing “audacity and imagination,” aimed at opening new commercial horizons and attracting investment.  These comments were in keeping with Brazil’s motives for organizing the conference, widely seen as a further effort to give Brazil a global profile, and linked to Brazil’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Yet while Lula’s remarks focused on economic generalities, Bouteflika focused on political issues in the Middle East. “The Palestinians have the right to an independent state,” said the Algerian leader, adding that Israel should withdraw to the pre-1967 borders in order to allow a just, global, and lasting peace.  Bouteflika also mentioned Iraq, noting that it is a “source of much uneasiness,” and pressing for “peace, security, and sovereignty,” in a veiled criticism of the US occupation.

Despite the intentions of its Brazilian organizers, the conference was characterized by political tensions stemming from differences in participants’ positions on the recently elected Iraqi government, represented at the conference by President Jalal Talabani.  Chávez has been an outspoken critic of the US invasion of Iraq, and has described the elections as questionable, given the continuation of the US occupation and the Iraqi insurgency.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1619

[Vogon_Glory]

1. I Know That Meeting With The Arabs Is Chic, But

Perhaps it's because I'm about as jaded about the so-called purity and righteousness of most of the various Arab causes as I am about the so-called purity and righteousness of the Zionists, but could someone kindly enlighten me as to what benefit the South Americans would get from hob-knobbing with the Arabs?

I don't really like the Israelis that much, but didn't they at least occasionally offset their support for certain repressive regimes with the occasional economic aid program? What have the Arabs done?

It's not that the Arabs are all economic basket cases. The financial resources of the Gulf states are nothing to sneeze at. Some Arabs can afford foreign aid. How much and what sort has gotten to South America?

I await on-board responses with interest. Personal attacks sent privately will be deleted.

[geek tragedy]

2. Why not meet?

The Europeans and the North Americans get there noses in everyone's business--what's wrong with the rest of the world having the occasional pow-wow?

[chlamor]

3. Isn't this what that glorious notion

Free Trade is all about?
Heck the US just sent Jordan $100 mill in "Aid" and on the same day Chalabi's corruption charges were dropped.
Heck tons of money, drugs,weapons-and dignitaries- are coming and going from the sands of Saudi and the poppies of Afghani to the world of Wall $treet.

It's a crazy mercantile world.

[AP]

4. I wonder if the spin is going to be nobody can meet with Arabs and talk

about development issues because of the I-P issue?

That would conveniently undermine those two regions attempt to shift the axis of political power away from Boston-NYC-DC.