IN THE NEWS - Summit of South American-Arab Nations

IN THE NEWS - Summit of South American-Arab Nations
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, May 14, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Heads of state and other officials from thirty-four nations met this week for the first-ever Summit of South American and Arab Countries. The officials attended the two-day conference in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. They represented countries with a population of more than six hundred million people.

 
Heads of state and delegates pose for the official photo of the South American and Arab countries summit in Brasilia
The goal of the conference was to improve economic relations between South America and the Middle East. But politics also played a big part in the meeting. South American officials mostly discussed ways to increase trade with Arab nations. Arab officials discussed American and Israeli policies in the Middle East.

The representatives to the conference announced a final declaration on Wednesday. The Brasilia Declaration calls for closer cooperation between South American and Arab nations on their common goals for economic and social development. The officials said developing nations should resist the power of rich nations and should trade among themselves.

The declaration supports a separate state for the Palestinians that would exist peacefully next to Israel. It said Israel should withdraw from all territories it has occupied since nineteen sixty-seven, including settlements in East Jerusalem. Israeli groups criticized the statement.

Representatives also supported the new Iraqi government. Its leader, Jalal Talabani, attended the meeting. The declaration honored the unity¹, self-government and independence of Iraq.

The conference condemned² terrorism and called for a world meeting to define terrorism. The officials called for a ban on nuclear arms and chemical and biological weapons.

The statement declared the rights of people to resist foreign occupation. Israel expressed concern about the statement. It said this could mean support for militant³ groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. The declaration also criticized the United States for restrictions⁴ against Syria. A United States request to send an observer to the conference had been rejected.

The officials wanted the next head of the World Trade Organization to be from a developing nation. They supported economist⁵ Carlos Perez del Castillo of Uruguay. However, on Friday, he withdrew his candidacy. So former European Union Trade Commissioner⁶ Pascal Lamy of France became head of the WTO.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged developing countries to work for freer trade rules. He said more liberal rules would aid struggling nations instead of helping⁷ only rich countries and international companies.

South American and Arab nations exchanged about ten thousand million dollars of goods last year. Brazil and the Arab countries were responsible for about eight thousand million dollars of that trade.

Brazilian officials said they would like to increase the amount to fifteen thousand million dollars in three years.

IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, was written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。