Brazilian President Cancels
Participation In G-20
BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva canceled on Friday his trip to
Toronto, Canada, to attend the G-20 Summit,
which gathers the leaders of the largest
group of developed and developing countries,
because of the emergency situation in
Brazil's northeast region due to heavy rains
and floods.
The information was confirmed by Foreign
Minister Celso Amorim, who explained that
Finance Minister Guido Mantega, will
represent the president at the meeting.
"(President) told me he will not go. He
wants to stay in Brazil following the
measures that have been taken in relation to
problems of flooding in the northeast," the
minister said after a meeting with the
president.
On Thursday, Lula da Silva flew over the
affected areas of the states of Alagoas and
Pernambuco, where 51 deaths were recorded so
far, dozens are missing and there are nearly
250,000 evacuees.
According to Amorim, Minister Mantega may
represent the president at the Toronto
meeting because "issues to be discussed are
strictly economic."
At the summit, Brazil will ask for
commitments of G-20 member countries with
the resumption of economic growth and
maintenance of global stimulus policies.
The Brazilian delegation will also defend
progress in reforming the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), with greater voting
power for developing countries;
strengthening of international standards for
regulation of financial markets and the
conclusion of the Doha round of World Trade
Organization (WTO). |
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