Al-Buainain, in an opening speech of the fifth meeting for senior officials from Arab and South American foreign ministries, said that both sides were keen on supporting joint cooperation that would benefit mutual interests.
The three-day meeting is being held in the framework of preparations for the second Arab-South American countries summit scheduled for late March 2009 in Doha, Qatar.
This meeting, Al-Buainain said, reflected Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s keenness to strengthen ties of friendship between the two sides, as well as creating prospects of cooperation in all spheres.
For his part, Chairman of the Chilean delegation, whose country chairs the Union of South American countries, underlined the progress that had been made in relations since the foreign ministers meeting in Argentina last February.
He stressed the importance of the Doha meeting, which coincides with the critical global financial crisis.
The meeting’s agenda includes follow-up to what was achieved in various areas of cooperation between the Arab and South American sides and approval of the formation of an open-membership working group composed of a troika from both sides and other interested states to be entrusted with the formation of the "Doha Declaration" and setting up a plan of action to be submitted to the second summit in Doha.