WASHINGTON (PAN): In an effort to build the nascent Afghan-Brazil ties, the Afghanistans Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Mohammad Ehsan Zia, and Political Counselor M Ashraf Haidari, paid an official visit to Brasilia early this month.

During their two-day visit, they met with Miguel Jorge, Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Miguel Jorge; Silas Brasileiro, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply; and Ambassador Roberto Jaguaribe, Undersecretary General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of External Relations.

The bilateral meetings focused on a discussion of Afghanistans expanding relations with Brazil, and assessing areas of technical cooperation with the country, Haidari said.

Zia conveyed the gratitude of President Hamid Karzai and Afghan people to the Brazilian officials for their governments recent financial pledge to assist the Afghan reconstruction efforts.

He thanked Deputy Minister of Agriculture Silas Brasileiro and Dr. Elisio Contini, Head of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), for the thorough briefing the Afghan delegation received at the Embrapa-Cerrado facility in Brasilia.

Both sides agreed that the Ministries of Agriculture in Brazil and Afghanistan exchange technical delegations to initiate programs for implementation based on a Memorandum of Understanding.

In their meeting with Jorge, Zia explored cooperation in developing light industries and agribusiness sector in Afghanistan.

Jorge said they had been working with a number of countries in Latin America and Africa to help them with processing food and horticultural products, as well as transferring knowledge and technology to enable those countries to do so on their own.

He said Brazils Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade was ready to work with Embrapa to begin assisting Afghanistan, soon after an exchange of technical delegations to assess specific areas of collaboration.

Ambassador Jaguaribe reiterated President Luiz Incio Lula da Silvas commitment to expanding relations with Afghanistan and assisting the countrys reconstruction efforts.

Brazil is going to participate in the upcoming international conference on Afghanistan in Hague, the Netherlands, on March 31, 2009, which some 75 other countries will attend to discuss international stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and reaffirm their continued support for the country.

The two countries reestablished non-resident diplomatic relations through their Embassies in United States and Pakistan respectively in September 2004.

Afghanistans first indirect diplomatic relations with Brazil began in 1962. Prime Minister Hashim Maiwandwal, who served as Afghanistans Ambassador to the US during 1958-1963, became Afghanistans first non-resident Ambassador to Brazil. Relations between the two countries stalled after the breakdown of government institutions in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979.

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