BRASILIA - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, due to land in Brazil on Saturday, is the first Pakistani leader to visit Latin America and seeks to raise his country's image while opening new commercial markets. Musharraf was to arrive on late Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, and travel Sunday to Brasilia, to meet President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before leaving November 30. The leaders are set to sign four documents: on drug trafficking; agroindustry hygiene; visa waivers; and mechanisms for regular political elections, according to the director of Brazil's foreign ministry Asia-Oceania section, Edmundo Fujita. "Pakistan wants to broaden its diplomatic horizons, with Latin America and Brazil in particular," Fujita said.
He said that the two countries held non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council, giving them "quite a high level of agreement on positions." "We hope for greater dialogue -- with Asian countries in general and with South Asia in particular," the diplomat said. Under Lula's nearly two-year presidency, Brazil has encouraged alliances among developing countries. Brazil has not, however, gotten Islamabad's backing in its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, should current efforts to reform the world body be realized. "Pakistan recognizes the need for a larger council, but with non-permanent members," Fujita said. Diplomats said that Islamabad's reticence is due to India, its traditional enemy, and one of the strongest candidates to join a larger council, along with Brazil, Germany and Japan. The four countries have launched their candidacies as a slate to coordinate their efforts. Trade between Brazil and Pakistan is small, at 50 million dollars in 2003.
| Not counting the secret trade in nuclear technology, of course. |
According to Fausto Godoy, Brasilia's ambassador to Islamabad, "There is a lack of policy to define the areas of cooperation." However, Musharraf's visit aimed to bridge that gap and promote discussion of various areas. Brazil is interested in deep-sea drilling for Pakistani oil and in Pakistan's privatizations, Godoy said. Pakistan is interested in selling high-quality textiles and in Brazilian technology to distil ethanol, given that Pakistan has sugar cane, the raw material for the fuel. The Islamic republic is out to change its image, Brazilian diplomats said.
| Just about any new image would do. |
"Musharraf is coming to Brazil to show Pakistan to the world, because of world events, he needs new visibility and wants to leave the region and join the world order," Godoy said. |