Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim visits the Middle East

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SÃO PAULO, 08 January 2009 - Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim is going to visit Israel, Palestine, Syria and Jordan between January 11 and 13, in order to deal with the Gaza conflict. On January 11, in Damascus, Mr. Amorim will be welcomed by President Bachar Al-Assad and by the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wallid Muallem. Mr. Amorim will proceed to Jerusalem on that same day, where he will meet his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni. The following day, in Ramallah, Minister Amorim will hold meetings with the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, with Prime Minister Salam Fayaad, and with the Foreign Minister, Riad Malki. On January 13, Mr. Amorim will be in Aman, where meetings with King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Salah Bashir have been scheduled. On that same day, Minister Amorim will take part in the donation ceremony, by the Brazilian Government, of 6 tons of medical supplies, and 8 tons of food for the Palestinians affected by the Gaza conflict.

The aim of Minister Amorim’s tour is to support the efforts for an immediate cease-fire, a relief for the humanitarian situation, and the establishment of a lasting peace in the region. His visit occurs as a follow up to a sequence of contacts between Minister Amorim and some of the main political leaders involved in the search for a solution to the conflict – the United Nations Secretary General, the Palestinian President, the Arab League Secretary General, the President of the European Community Commission, the State Secretary of the United States, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Israel, France, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Switzerland, and Syria.

The Brazilian Government has been following closely the events in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Brazilian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Representative Office in Ramallah have been in contact with the Brazilian community living in the region, so as to provide the necessary support. The Ministry of External Relations will continue to monitor the situation attentively, to ensure that any Brazilian affected by the conflict receives consular protection.