Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva._________________________
Brazil's popular and highly respected president was to head straight from the airport to a an official welcome ceremony on the grounds of the Royal Palace, and then to a gala banquet held in his honor inside.
The sun was shining brilliantly as palace crews put the final touches on arrangements for his arrival. His official program begins at 9am Friday, when he's to open a trade seminar between Norway and Brazil.
From there he’ll head into morning meetings with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, before having lunch with government ministers and a meeting with the president of the Norwegian Parliament, Thorbjørn Jagland.
Lula's wish list
Lula told newspaper Aftenposten in an interview in Brasilia that he looked forward to meeting Stoltenberg and had three missions on his agenda, "two of which I’m going to ask the Norwegian prime minister to help me with."
Lula said he intended to ask Norway for its support for Brazil's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
"In addition I want to ask Prime Minister Stoltenberg to support us in the Doha round (of the World Trade Organization talks)," Lula said. He wants wealthy countries like Norway to cut their subsidies to agricultural products, "something the Third World can benefit from."
Lula, like many others, believes subsidy cuts would enhance real competition in the market. Norwegian farmers' traditional demands for assistance effectively keep cheaper imports out of the country and keep Norwegian price levels high. Norway's longtime support for its own farmers has often been criticized as coming at the expense of farmers in poverty-stricken countries.
Product of poverty
Lula, age 61, is a product of poverty himself, as the youngest of eight children in a poor family from northeastern Brazil. He had to help support the family as soon as he learned to walk, went hungry, and tried to earn money shining shoes as a child.
"I’ll never forget the hunger and degradation," he told Aftenposten. "That’s why we’re pursuing education, a more fair distribution of wealth and campaigns against hunger and poverty."
Lula, said he was "deeply impressed" by the social welfare states built up by Norway and other Nordic countries. He hopes to do the same in Brazil, and claims that around 7 million people in Brazil have been lifted out of poverty. He said around 11 million families now receive financial assistance that allows them to send their children to school and for regular health checks.
Lula is traveling with Brazil’s foreign minister, Celso Amorim, and the director for state oil company Petrobras, Jose Sergio Gabrielli. The state visit runs through Friday.
Arne Halvorsen
Aftenposten English Web Desk
Nina Berglund
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