Assistant Foreign Minister for American Affairs and the Organization of American States, Ambassador Hatem Seif El-Nasr, received on 11 December Mr. Arnaldo Carrilho Brazilian Ambassador Extraordinary for the Summit of Arab and South American countries, within the framework of his tour to follow up the preparations for the Summit. In the same context a ministerial meeting is scheduled to be held in Argentina on February the 20th and 21st, preceded by a Senior Official meeting on February the 18th and 19th. At the beginning of the meeting, the Brazilian Ambassador demonstrated that his tour included Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and highlighted his intention to visit Syria, Qatar after his visit to Egypt. Both sides affirmed the importance of cooperation between the Arab and Latin American countries, particularly with the presence of large numbers of communities from Arab-origins in Latin America. The Brazilian Envoy underlined the presence of 10.5 million Arabs in Brazil alone, stressing the importance of cooperation between the countries of the South and noting the tangible change in the Brazilian foreign policy orientations, with the beginning of President Lula da Silva's term of office, and his obvious concern over the Arab issues, particularly the Palestinian issue. The Brazilian Envoy re-extended the invitation to Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, from his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim, to visit Brazil, stressing the importance of such visit to boost bilateral cooperation and dialogue over various issues, including the UN reform and the Security Council expansion. Ambassador Seif El-Nasr affirmed the importance Egypt gives to relations with the Latin American countries.