Brazil Is Good for Your Pocket, Says Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is headed to New
York where he will tell investors from the US, Mexico and Canada
that Brazil is a great place in which to invest. Lula will also take part
in the Global Compact Summit, organized by the United Nations.
There he intends to discuss his Zero Hunger Campaign.

Nelson Motta

After demonstrating to the Chinese that Brazil is at a propitious juncture and offers good business opportunities, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will tell over 300 entrepreneurs in New York, Wednesday (23) morning, that it is worthwhile to invest in Brazil.

The Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, one of the ministers who will travel with the President, declared that "there will be a collective effort to inform public opinion and investors."

And that American, Canadian, and Mexican entrepreneurs will be given a positive impression, with figures that express a series of Brazilian victories in the economy, the social area, and investments. "The figures show that Brazil has resumed consistent growth," Furlan said.

Lula's meeting with investors from the three North American countries, Furlan disclosed, should follow the same format as the meeting held in Geneva (Switzerland) at the beginning of the year, when the Brazilian President addressed European investors.

Furlan also stated that, following the speech, Lula will have lunch with the businessmen at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. And during the afternoon he will open the seminar "Brazil Meets Markets," as well as taking part in the inauguration of the Federal Savings Bank's fund remittance service for Brazilians who live abroad.

The Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade also prepared a video with statistics on the production of capital goods, the automobile and aircraft industry, cell phones, and computers. Each participant will receive the Investment Guide to Brazil, containing information on Brazilian projects.

In 2003 Brazilian exports to the United States rose 8.8 percent. Exports to Canada, over 25 percent. Mexico was the sixth largest buyer of Brazilian products last year, to the tune of US$ 2.741 billion.

Poverty and Hunger

In New York, Lula will also take part in the Global Compact Summit, organized by the United Nations. On the 24^th, Lula will speak about the campaign he is promoting to combat hunger and poverty in the world and will invite multinationals to join in the campaign. Lula will also meet with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.

The social area will be the theme of the Summit, which will be attended by representatives of companies such as Petrobras and the Vale do Rio Doce, in recognition of their activities in this sphere, as well as representatives of foreign companies. The goal is to stimulate the social responsibility of these firms, to participate in the initiative launched by the UN in 2000.

This will not be the President's first trip to New York to discuss social issues. In his first year in office, when he opened the 58^th session of the UN General Assembly, Lula summoned the UN member-states to contribute to a global fund to combat hunger, poverty, and extreme poverty around the world.

In September, the Brazilian President should also be the first to speak at the opening of the 59^th session of the General Assembly, in accordance with the organization's tradition.

The Minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, also recalled that the President of France, Jacques Chirac, has been one of Lula's most important allies in the fight against social inequality throughout the world, together with the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.

"This will be one more opportunity to advance the proposal to minimize the consequences of problems, related to hunger, poverty, and underdevelopment, that affect the majority of the world's population," Furlan concluded.

Nelson Motta works for Agência Brasil (AB), the official press agency of the Brazilian government. Comments are welcome at lia@radiobras.gov.br.

Translated from the Portuguese by David Silberstein.