(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
 
President Reuven Rilvin today, (Tuesday, 27 February 2018), held a working meeting at his residence with Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Aloysio Nunes who was visiting Israel.
 
The President stressed the significance of his visit, the first official visit of a Brazilian Foreign Minister for more than a decade. He said, “The relationship between us, not only the governments but the people is important to both of us. We are doing so much in water and agriculture, and also in cyber and security, and this can have benefit to both peoples, and the whole world.”
 
The President reiterated Israel’s concerns regarding Iran’s involvement in the region, and their efforts to destabilize the Middle East. He noted they continued to support Hezbollah and Hamas who threatened Israel each day, and that they supported fundamentalism and terrorism all over the world, including South America. The President reiterated that Iran posed a threat to the whole world, especially in their efforts to achieve nuclear weapons.
 
The President spoke of the growing cooperation between Israel and many of its neighbors in the region. “Israel has no war with Islam,” he stressed, “but there can be little progress with those who reject our existence,” and added that the whole world must stand up to the threat of the spread of fundamentalism. The President added the importance of promoting understanding between Israel and the Palestinians, as the only way to reach a solution to the conflict. “They must understand that we have returned to homeland,” he said.
 
The President noted the importance of working to strengthen ties with Brazil and noted, “We may not always agree politically, but we must be clear that boycotts do nothing to further understanding.”
 
The Foreign Minister said that the cultural connections between the two countries should be strengthened especially. He said, “My visit is to reaffirm our friendship and cooperation in a range of issues. We could be doing so much more,” and praised the involvement of many Israeli firms in the Brazilian economy and their contribution to security in the country. He noted he had visited Israel before, and spoke of his appreciation for Israel’s development of hi-tech in agriculture. He also spoke warmly of the Jewish community in Sao Paolo, and said he had long felt very connected to the Jewish community and to Israel.
 
He told the President, “I understand the security challenges for Israel - even beyond the geopolitical problems and fundamentalism. We see this rising and is a challenge also for us.”