Notícias
Address by Minister Ernesto Araújo in the Meeting at the International Conference on Assistance and Support to Beirut and the Lebanese People
Thank you very much, Minister Le Drian.
Brazil is very thankful to President Emmanuel Macron and Secretary-General
António Guterres for convening this meeting.
Lebanon is very special for us Brazilians. Brazil is home to 10 million Lebanese and their descendants, the largest Lebanese diaspora in the world. The entrepreneurship and creativity of the Lebanese, their love of life and freedom, are an essential component of the Brazilian national identity.
In the previous Conference for Lebanon, in August, President Jair Bolsonaro, on behalf of all Brazilians, expressed full solidarity with Lebanon and Brazil's commitment to cooperate in its reconstruction.
I am pleased to report now that much of the assistance then announced has already been delivered. On August 12th two Brazilian aircrafts carried a total of 6.5 tons of food, medicine, health supplies and medical and hospital equipment donated by the Brazilian government and the Lebanese-Brazilian community, on a mission led by former President Michel Temer, himself of Lebanese descent.
The technical team of different Brazilian agencies prepared special maps of the port of Beirut in order to assist in the planning and implementation of emergency response and the post-disaster assistance.
Subsequent air shipments of donations raised by the Lebanese community in Brazil carried an additional 38 tons of food, medicine, and medical and hospital supplies. This community also raised approximately US$ 225,000 to assist in the reconstruction of the Intensive Care Unit at the Geitaoui Hospital in Beirut.
A Brazilian government donation of 4 thousand tons of rice is about to be shipped. Before the explosion, Brazil had already donated US$ 75,000 to help Lebanon cope with the COVID pandemic.
The Lebanese diaspora maintains very close contacts with its ancestral land, as relatives of an extended family, through a network of friends and business partners, and through the participation in civil society groups, and the Brazilian government is entirely engaged in facilitating these channels.
Furthermore, Brazil, as one of the world leaders in initiatives to promote food security, is also entirely willing to assist Lebanon in the medium and long term through the World Food Program, for example.
Brazil together with its partners in MERCOSUR is ready to negotiate the Free Trade Agreement with Lebanon, which could contribute to economic recovery and investment flows. Brazil is ready to join any programs aimed at Lebanon’s reform, recovery and reconstruction, in connection with the United Nations, World Bank, European Union, or any partners, recalling that any program must be able to respond to the needs of local society and to be implemented in coordination with the leaders of Lebanon.
In sum, thanks to the extraordinary size, significance and dynamism of the Lebanese community and national capacities in Brazil, we are convinced Brazil can play a special role in the efforts to help Lebanon in the economic, cooperative and political dimensions. Brazilians consider Lebanon a sister nation, and, from that special place of Lebanon in our hearts, the Brazilian government of President Bolsonaro wants to help Lebanon. Brazil wants to be a part in a new moment for Lebanon with peace, security, prosperity, freedom, democracy and sovereignty.
You can count on Brazil.
Thank you very much.