Notícias
Press conference by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Tony Blair (London, 3.9.2006)
Prime Minister: Good Afternoon everyone, and thank you for coming to this press conference. Can I extend a very warm welcome here to the President of Brazil and say how delighted we are with the State Visit that he is undertaking to our country, and I would like to describe to you the nature of the talks that we have had this morning.
Obviously we have discussed a number of important regional and international issues, and will continue with our Ministers to discuss areas of bilateral cooperation. We are signing a series of Memorandums of Understanding today in areas like education, and science and technology, and action on climate change where Brazil has been developing in respect of ethanol fuels and very, very interesting ideas. We have also been discussing the general state of our bilateral relationship, which is strong and good and we want to see even stronger still, and of course the relationship is one in which there is a substantial amount of commerce and trade.
However, we have actually focused a large part of our talks today on the issue of world trade and the World Trade Round, and it is our common belief and understanding that this is a huge moment of decision for the world. The potential benefits of a dynamic and ambitious round are there not just for the developing countries, and those countries that are most developed, but of course also for the poorest countries in the world. And this is a moment in which it is essential that we show the leadership necessary to break through the obstacles and have that ambitious round. The World Trade Round may seem a very dry subject to people, but the result of an ambitious round would be felt in greater prosperity, more jobs and greater social justice. It is a very, very important year therefore for the world. The reason it is such an acute problem is because if we do not succeed this year then the US Presidential mandate runs out in 2007 and it is therefore going to be far more difficult at that point to get agreement.
So what we have agreed is to work together closely, Britain obviously within the European Union, and Brazil within the G20, and to try to persuade our partners and colleagues to go beyond the established positions and have a far more ambitious round. To that end we are prepared to have a meeting of the key leaders and we will discuss with our colleagues how and when that can be possible. But I think this is in the end something where the detail of course has got to be debated and discussed by the trade negotiators, but it is also an issue for us, the leaders, to make sure that we fulfil the expectations and needs of our people to have a good and bold trade round.
So I want to praise President Lula specifically for his leadership and his passion on this issue, which is important, and to say I think it is evidence also of the growing role of Brazil on the international stage, which is why once again I expressed to him also our strong support for Brazil’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
President Lula da Silva: Good afternoon, everyone. Brazilian journalists, British journalists. I came with a prepared declaration for the press, because for me the visit that we have been carrying out to the United Kingdom this week is a visit which should really be able to change the level of relations between Brazil and the United Kingdom in the fields of politics, social affairs and in our cultural and economic relations. And we are now concluding this visit and my evaluation is very positive with the net results. I will be going home convinced that relations between the United Kingdom and Brazil have at this time reached a higher level. The density and the variety of the meetings that I have had in London have allowed me to substantially intensify dialogue and cooperation between our countries. The three days in the United Kingdom have strengthened in me the image of a country that has been able to conciliate over time tradition with innovation.
In the meeting we just had, Prime Minister Tony Blair and I were able to verify our agreement on central issues on the international agenda. Considering the frank conversations we have had, I am convinced that the United Kingdom and Brazil together will make a crucial contribution to unblock the Doha Round at the WTO. To that end we will work to convince other world leaders about the need for an agreement that will help developing countries, and especially the poorest countries. The Prime Minister and I agreed that as soon as possible it would be good to hold a meeting of Heads of State and Government to give a decisive push to these negotiations. The United Kingdom and Brazil share the understanding that we need concrete urgent measures to be taken to make our global order more balanced and more equitable.
We also agree with the need for a broad reform in the United Nations, and we all know that the Prime Minister Tony Blair has been a partner in giving support to Brazil as a Permanent Member of a reformed Security Council. The clearest expression of this is in all the public declarations in all the times that I have met with the Prime Minister. That is why Brazil is thankful for the position of the United Kingdom.
We are also still committed to promoting an agreement of association between Mercosur and the European Union. I have emphasised to Prime Minister Tony Blair that South America is a zone of peace, with a strong democratic vocation which has very promising prospects in the economic area for its development. Today in our region we are convinced that a cycle of sustained development is fundamental for the final consolidation of democracy in our continent, and for us to be able to adjust and pay our centuries long social debts in each country to our own peoples. All of the authorities in our continent are committed to that cause to achieve social justice.
Prime Minister Tony Blair and I have reaffirmed our commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. We have reiterated our support to initiatives to fight hunger and poverty around the world. We are involved in identifying and implementing innovative financial facilities to that end. Brazil is supporting the IFF pilot project, launched by the United Kingdom, to finance vaccinations against disease. We participated in a pilot project launched last week in Paris which will establish contributions and solidarity from airline tickets to fight aids, malaria and tuberculosis. The joint declaration we just signed established commitments in areas that we consider to be strategic for bilateral cooperation in areas such as science and technology, the environment, health, education, creative industries, racial equality, just to mention a few.
It is clear that there is a major potential for cooperation in sustainable development, particularly in the energy sector. Brazil today is an international benchmark in research and the use of biofuels, for example ethanol and biodeisel, and I had the chance to talk with Prime Minister Tony Blair on other occasions as well, most recently in South Africa, and with all the authorities of the United Kingdom whom I have met, I have no problem and always invite them to be partners with Brazil, and to improve the technology for producing biofuels, because it is our understanding that in the 21st Century we cannot leave it to the end of the century because we won’t be here any more. We have to start now, we have to turn biofuels into the big matrix for energy and for fuels in general, it is less polluting, it creates more jobs and it is, not just for the interest of emerging countries like Brazil and developed countries like the United Kingdom, but above all the poorest countries, such as the countries of Africa and central America.
I am also certain that this visit will be good to push even more the trade and investments between the United Kingdom and Brazil. The business seminar that I attended yesterday, and the contacts I have had with British business leaders, showed me the great interest they have in Brazil today. All this is due to the seriousness that we have shown in our macro- economic policies, bringing stability and responsibility above all for the steps being taken in an electoral year when we cannot allow the election to end up being a problem for things that are really working. Whether you are looking at Brazil from the inside or the outside, you need to see that Brazil has finally decided to help itself and the only thing Brazil needs is Brazil itself to help with its own development, to build its own basis for development.
And I want to conclude by saying to Prime Minister Tony Blair that I will be eternally grateful for the affection that my wife and I, and my delegation, have received during these three days that we have been here. I don’t know if there is any place in the world where I would be better treated than I was here. If there is, I would really like to be able to go there soon, because I am going home with the best of impressions, and with the impression that the interest of investors from the United Kingdom and Brazil are very high. I see the interest in partnerships between the business sectors of the two countries, and I am also going home convinced that the United Kingdom has started to look to Latin America, to South America, and within South America there is no way that people cannot see Brazil, which is the biggest territory in our continent.
And for that reason, my dear Prime Minister, I thank you. I hope that some day in Brazil I will be able to return this affection, and I hope that we can receive you in Brazil for us to be able to continue discussing issues of the common interest to Brazil, the United Kingdom and the world – namely more democracy, more development, more income distribution, less terrorism, less drugs and more development. That is what we want and that is what we are fighting for. And it is with that conviction that I leave the United Kingdom shortly, but I am happier than when I came.
Prime Minister Tony Blair: Thank you very much indeed. That was an excellent vision that you set out. Thank you.
Question: Can I ask you whether you discussed the shooting of Mr de Menezes, and whether you have full confidence on the Brazilian side that the British police have told the truth and cooperated fully with the investigations, and whether you Prime Minister still have full confidence in the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police?
Prime Minister Tony Blair: On the very latter point, yes, of course I do. But yes, of course the President and myself discussed the de Menezes case, and once again let me say that we offer our deepest regrets to the family for this very tragic event and I of course assured the President that the proper investigations and procedures would continue through to their conclusion.
President Lula da Silva: We are working on the basis of trusting that the government and the police in the United Kingdom will investigate what needs to be investigated and they will do what must be done. Our Ministry of Justice has sent a commission here, we have interest in working together on this because we want there to be justice for the family, they deserve all the support of the British and the Brazilian governments for us to be able to discover what actually happened. I will be meeting with the family soon, I will be talking with Jean’s cousins, and I intend to say to them not just what has already been done by our Ministry of External Relations and our Ministry of Justice, what we know that has been done by the British government, but also to make ourselves more and more open and to make our Embassies available for us to be able to do whatever can be done and is within our reach for us to be able to make up for the pain that this family has suffered. But we also understand that the British people have been very understanding, have felt this very dearly.After all, this is the kind of incident that no-one would like to have happened, neither here in the United Kingdom, nor in Brazil, nor anywhere in the world.
Question: The Brazilian government, does it really want to build 7 new nuclear plants in 15 years? How much investment does that mean? And is that decision of concern to the British? And what is the Brazilian government’s position on Iran’s decision to go on with its nuclear projects? I am asking you, but I would also like to hear the Prime Minister’s comments.
President Lula da Silva: Well first of all I would not like to talk about things, policies in Brazil, because I will be arriving in Brazil tomorrow, early in the morning I will be in Recife, and all the press will be there to ask me a lot about our domestic problems, and then I will be going to another event. But the thing is that the government has not made a decision, the government is discussing technically all possibilities for us to be able to have the total control over energy production to ensure our country will have sufficient today and in the future. There is much to be done by the government in the energy field, obviously we will not stop discussing nuclear energy, which is always an important issue, and at some point we may come to a precise position. But all I can say is that the government has not decided because when it does decide it will go over my table and you will know, because it will be in our interests to communicate to the Brazilian nation what we plan to do. For the time being we are still deciding. We have decided to build Belo Monte Hydro Plant and we are preparing the whole process to build two hydro-electrics on the Madeira River as well, and we are investing very much in biofuels and we are also thinking about using biomass as part of our energy mix. That is what we are talking about. When this issue comes on to my table for a final decision you will know what we have decided then and it is clear.
And as you know, with regards to Iran, I have had the chance to speak with many people around the world. Brazil has a clear position. First of all, Brazil defends the idea of countries being able to use nuclear energy as they need it; second, we defend Iran, like Brazil, being committed to the decisions of multilateral organisations, that is how we imagine that people should treat something as serious as this. That goes for Iran, that goes for the United Kingdom and for Brazil. We all have to be subordinated to the fora that democratically make policy decisions on nuclear policy issues.
Prime Minister Tony Blair: I agree.
Question (Larry Elliott, Guardian): Two quick questions on trade. The first one, you talk of concrete and bold steps, but isn’t it the case that the really concrete and bold step that needs to be taken is by the European Union in improving market access for agriculture, and until and unless that step is taken, these talks are going to struggle? The second point is, when and where do you envisage this meeting of leaders taking place?
Prime Minister Tony Blair: I think on the latter point we have obviously got to discuss with the other key people how this can be taken forward, but it has obviously got to be at the right moment to give the necessary push for the talks to succeed. And yes, of course there is an issue about Europe and its agriculture policy, but there is also an issue about the agriculture policy of other countries, and then there is the non-agricultural goods and services as well, so it is everything together. And what we are really saying is that if we can get a concerted move all ways round, by every part of the international community, to be much more bold and ambitious on this, then yes it will mean changes in the policy of Europe, but also of other countries as well, but that is what we want to see. And the reason for that is that in the end it is in the interests of everybody that we move to a more open trading situation, and in particular it is in the interests of some of the poorest countries of the world because this is supposed to be a development round that they are able to sell their goods into our markets. And one of the things that has come out very strongly from this visit of the President of Brazil is the commitment he has as well to Africa, and I know he has travelled extensively there recently, and there is an absolute obligation and duty on us as an international community to find a way forward so that the poorest countries of the world gain access to the markets of the more wealthy countries. However, it is also in the interests of the wealthy countries themselves to have a more open trading system, that is the way that we make progress. And I think that the only other point I would make is that I think the success or failure of this round is also a very strong indicator of the commitment that countries have to a multilateral process. This is a process that has got to be negotiated in the international community by different countries and different regions with different interests, but with one common obligation duty and indeed interest, and that is to make the thing work, to take down the trade barriers and allow us to trade freely in the interests of our citizens. So yes, it will mean changes everywhere if we are going to get this done, but we believe it is important.
Question: I would like to ask the President, the military troops have been in the hills of Rio de Janeiro for the past several days looking for weapons that have been stolen from army bases, and you as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, were you consulted about that action, and if you were did you understand the constraints of this kind of search, and if these arms are not found?
President Lula da Silva: First of all, I shall be talking about that tomorrow when I land in Brazil. I was informed by my Vice President, Acting President, Minister of Defence and informed by the Commander of the Army, and we will only know whether we will find them or not if we look for them. If we cross our arms we will not find anything, for sure. And it was extremely serious what happened, we don’t know who – someone, we don’t know who – occupied a military base and stole the weapons. We cannot allow that to happen. Therefore I think that the army is taking all the care that it needs to, it is working together with the Military Police for us to find not just the weapons, but also to be able to find out who carried out that attack into an army base where they stole the weapons. But certainly tonight when I arrive in Recife I will be more closely involved in that, whether there was violence or not, this is always the confirmation that violence leads to violence, and we would not like that to happen, but no matter what, the army has to search for what belongs to the army.