By Binsal Abdulkader DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 03rd Oct, 2021) Brazil and the United Arab Emirates will work together on United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for global peace and security, said a top Brazilian official.
In an exclusive interview with Emirates news Agency (WAM), Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão, who is on a four-day working visit to the UAE, said, "We [Brazil and UAE] will have non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council for 2022- 2023. We are going to be side by side. That's very good."
He pointed out that both countries had an open dialogue on international issues during President Jai Bolsonaro’s state visit to the UAE in 2019.
"Since then two countries’ raised their bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership, which include dialogues in the areas of peace and security" he said, revealing that President Bolsonaro will be visiting the UAE again next month.
Global concerns including Afghanistan He added that both countries will discuss and work together on matters of global concerns, including Afghanistan issue.
Brazilian government is supporting the international efforts to normalise the situation in Afghanistan. "Recently Brazil opened the possibility to issue temporary humanitarian visas for those affected by the situation in Afghanistan, especially women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities and their families," Mourão said.
This measure is in line with long tradition of Brazilian migration policy. "You know we are a country of migrants. Everybody who lives in Brazil it's a mix of Europeans or indigenous people or from middle East or the Far East. That's the way we behave. That's why many people say that a Brazilian passport is very valuable because anybody can pass by Brazilians," he said with a pleasant laugh.
President Bolsonaro to visit again next month Elaborating on President Bolsonaro’s UAE visit next month, Mourão revealed that he will be accompanied by a group of politicians and businesspersons from Brazil. "The visit on the occasion of Brazilian Republic Day celebrations at the Expo 2020 Dubai on 15th November is going to be very important. It shows President Bolsonaro’s commitment to this strategic partnership established in 2019. With this, we're going to deepen our relations," said the Vice President who inaugurated the Brazilian Pavilion in the Expo 2020 Dubai on Friday evening.
He finds clear signs of convergence and interest in deepening political relationship. "We understand that this political relationship creates a positive dynamic that drives progress in other sectors as well."
Tourism and trade make the bilateral ties really stronger, Mourão stressed. "We have been working hard to expand it. In the economic sphere, we believe that there are still many opportunities to be developed. We still have a long way to go and I see that we will go that long way side by side."
Revealing his first impression after landing in Dubai on his first visit to the UAE, Mourão said, "You come here, you see the future! It's a place where everybody in the world can come and feel comfortable. You look right or left and always see something that is familiar to you. And it does not happen in every country, so that's a big thing that you have here."
His experiences resonates with the movies he watched on the UAE. "I'm seeing what I have learned or watched in movies. A lot of movies have been made here already. UAE has a long tradition with its different Emirates. But as a country it is still young and it's admirable the way that you behave here and what have you constructed here."
Expo 2020 to open new opportunities for Brazil, Latin America "I have already walked around [Expo 2020 Dubai] and I could see the impressive work done here. It gives us hope that we're finally overcoming the worst phase of the pandemic and resuming public activities. And the fact that the Expo is being held in Dubai is a clear demonstration that the UAE is a dynamic economic model," the Vice President said.
At Expo 2020, he finds big opportunities for Brazil and other Latin American countries as well. "There is no doubt about it because everybody in the world is going to pass through here in the next six months. And these pavilions and the opportunities here will help us show what we want to show to the world. Sustainability is a main issue in 21st century and a big matter for Brazil," he explained.
Experience of army general and vice president Mourão became the Vice President after forty-six years of service in the Brazilian Army, attaining the rank of army general, which is the highest rank a Brazilian soldier can reach in peacetime. "As an army officer you always receive applause. However, as a politician you get severe criticism, too! That is the major difference."
He is the first indigenous person to hold the office of vice president in Brazil. "I think that so far as today, the indigenous people in Brazil have to have more space in not only in the military, but the government also, because many of them are still living in the indigenous reservations confined to mainly the Amazon area."
He thinks they have to join Brazilian society with a bigger effort. "Of course the present government is giving them education and opportunities to show their capabilties."
Since becoming the Vice President, he had to deal with a number of major issues such as coronavirus outbreak, a challenges to national economy, a global uproar over deforestation in the Amazon etc. He said he was able to put his best efforts to tackle all such crises.
