3-25-05, 2:13 pm

Rabat, Mar 25 (Prensa Latina) Twenty-two Arab and 12 South American countries are discussing Friday in Marrakech, in a ministerial meeting, the agenda and the final declaration project of both regions' presidential summit, to be held in Brasilia, in May.

The ministers, who are continuing the second preparatory meeting for the presidential summit, started Thursday by delegates from the 34 countries, will also discuss the schedule of the events to be held after May to boost bi-regional cooperation.

The summit will be held in Brasilia, from May 8-11, with heads of state or government in the last two days, as an initiative by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who proposed it in a tour of the Middle East in December, 2003.

The objective of that huge meeting is to establish South-South cooperation areas, Brazilian Foreign Ministry General Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Ambassador Vera Pedrosa said Thursday.

'We want cooperation in fighting hunger and poverty, creating innovative investment sources,' she added.

She said they should also discuss associations in the scientific, technological, cultural, and academic fields.

'The objective of the summit with the Arabs is to open our relation spectrum, maintaining dialogue with our traditional partners,' she highlighted, and said Brazil is extending its relations with the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and has a strategic relation with China.

The ambassador announced that presidents will be able to present freely in Brasilia the issues they are interested in, during the four meetings scheduled, and said one of the topics to discuss should be the UN reform and extension of its Security Council.

The diplomat said an item on which the foreign ministers need to decide Friday is non-participation of observers from other regions of the world, in which the United States and Spain are interested.

The South American Ministers attending the meeting are from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The Arab ministers are from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Comores, Djibouti, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, and Tunisia.