REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A LUNCHEON HOSTED BY PRESIDENT LULA, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A LUNCHEON HOSTED BY PRESIDENT LULA, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BRASILIA, BRAZIL, 29 MARCH
Mr President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, boa tarde a todos – good afternoon everyone.
It is an honour to be in Brazil during this special time for our two nations.
Mr President, my visit takes place during Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union and also at a time of excitement and hope for Brazil in the second year of your Administration.
The large waves of European immigration to Brazil in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and particularly to the southern states including Sao Paulo, have led in time to the strong contribution of immigrants and their descendants to Brazilian political and social life, thus forging a special link between Europe and Brazil.
The Irish community in Brazil is small, at around 500, and concentrated in the most populated states. Included in this are the many missionary priests and nuns who have for years worked in deprived areas of Brazil. The numbers are now much smaller than in the past but valuable work is still being done, selfless work that seeks no reward other than the improvement of the lives of Brazil’s poorest. The numbers of Brazilian nationals living in Ireland has been estimated at 4,000. This includes the arrival in recent years of the many highly skilled workers in the meat industry. So we have both old and new networks of friendship and family binding the Irish and the Brazilian peoples to each other.
This is my first visit to Brazil and I have been overwhelmed by your country’s famous welcome. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the magnificent cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in advance of my arrival in Brasília and it has been particularly gratifying to experience at first hand the links between our two nations. The Irish Studies Programme at the University of Sao Paulo and the success of Ireland’s Kerry Group in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais are strong symbols of this developing relationship. The cultural and trade delegations that accompanied me on this visit signify the great potential for closer links between Ireland and Brazil and I hope they will flourish.
My first impressions are of the enormous scale of everything and of stunning contrasts. There is the wealth and productive capacity of Sao Paulo, the physical beauty of Rio de Janeiro and the architectural splendour of Brasília. But your people make this a truly great country and your vision is revealing that greatness.
Programmes such as Fome Zero / Zero Hunger are indicative of your commitment to social equality and your initiatives in the foreign policy area have caught the attention and earned the respect of the international community. As a current member of the UN Security Council, Brazil is making an important contribution across the entire range of international issues. In the area of disarmament, Ireland and Brazil work constructively together at the United Nations through the New Agenda Coalition. Your commitment to provide troops to the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti is a practical example of Brazil’s commitment to international peace and security.
Because of its size and economic importance and because of the skill of its diplomacy, Brazil plays a leadership role both regionally and further afield. Your recent initiative on world poverty and hunger Mr President is an example of Brazil’s capacity to influence the agenda of international diplomacy in a positive way.
Ireland has important economic links with Brazil both bilaterally and through our membership of the European Union. The EU / Mercosur trade discussions have the potential to make a significant contribution to the economic development of both regions. As the current Presidency of the European Union, Ireland aims to make significant progress in the discussions with a view to achieving a successful outcome later this year. Ireland also looks forward to co-chairing with Mexico the European Union / Latin American and Caribbean summit in Guadalajara in May.
Mr President, Brazil has a good friend in Ireland and I know from the warmth of your welcome that Ireland has a good friend in Brazil. We wish you every success as you shape Brazil’s future. May it be the best future Brazil has ever known and may part of it be an ever-deepening friendship between our two countries.
Muito obrigada - thank you very much.