Address by Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of the state visit to Brazil, 24 March 2003
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Mr. President,
My visit to Brazil - to which I have been greatly looking forward - coincides with the very serious events now taking place elsewhere in the world. These events caused a dark shadow over this visit. However much over the coming days the focus will be on our bilateral relations, our thoughts will certainly often go to the developments in the Gulf region and to the tragedy they will bring to so many. It gives me great pleasure to be able to visit your country with my son and daughter-in-law and to be your guests here this evening. I myself am visiting Brazil for the first time, but my son Willem-Alexander has travelled in your country on several occasions and in him I therefore have an experienced and enthusiastic guide. The short time that has elapsed between the successful official visit to the Netherlands by your predecessor, President Cardoso, and this return visit clearly illustrates our mutual interest and the warmth of the relations between our two countries. Moreover, those relations are of very long standing. They date back nearly four hundred years, to sixteen twenty-four to be precise, when the Dutch settled in Brazil, though indeed not without violence. That Dutch presence was only of short duration, but it occupies a special place in our national memory. We in the Netherlands long regretted our departure; people talked of "Brazil, as the lost opportunity". In Brazil, however, there were mixed feelings. In a church in Olinda, an inscription speaks in a rather unflattering manner of "os bárbaros holandeses". By contrast, the Dutch governor, Count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, who even acquired the honourable nickname of "the Brazilian" ("o Brasileiro"), was respected as a sensible and enlightened administrator. Scholars, craftsmen and artists from Europe accompanied him to the New World. They opened the eyes of Europeans to these unknown territories and provided the earliest sources for our knowledge of Brazil. The paintings of Post and Eckhout can now be seen in museums in Europe and Brazil. We look forward to being able to admire a number of them in São Paulo and Recife. The Dutch left your shores, but our good relations continued to exist, largely in the form of trade links. At the beginning of the twentieth century, but especially after the Second World War, groups of Dutch farmers came here to build a new life in this vast country. In general, our compatriots are well integrated into the Brazilian population. They have successfully concentrated on producing such typically Dutch commodities as flowers and dairy products. As a result of our shared history and the many more recent contacts, there is a great interest in Brazil in our country, at the academic level as well. This is shown by the chair of Brazilian studies at the University of Leiden, which was inaugurated in 1998 by Vice-President Marco Maciel. It is just one example of the wide range of the relations between our countries and the many themes that they encompass. The inspiring message of Brazilian liberation theologians such as Dom Helder Câmara and Paulo Evaristo Arns has resounded in our country too. Brazilian music, both classical and modern, is renowned. The great Brazilian poet Ferreira Gullar and the artist Cildo Meireles have both won the Prince Claus Award, which is named after my husband. We share a national sport as well, which can arouse great excitement in both countries and which, I am told, can also count on your interest. I believe that nothing gives greater pleasure to those who understand and love the game than a match between Brazil and the Netherlands. Brazil enjoys respect in the world not only for its cultural and sporting achievements but also for its contribution to the international community. It is significant that the major environmental conference of nineteen ninety-two took place in Rio de Janeiro. The importance that your government attaches to this subject is well known, as is your personal commitment to environmental policy and efforts to preserve biodiversity. Since "Rio" these issues have been high on the agenda for the twenty-first century and we continue to remind each other of the obligations we then assumed. Our two countries share the same values and subscribe to the principles on which the international rule of law is based. We work well together in the United Nations. The International Criminal Court, which was inaugurated in The Hague earlier this month, is an example of our shared efforts towards achieving a lasting international legal order. Brazil occupies a place among the world's great powers because of the vastness of its territory, the size of its population, the qualities of its citizens and the strength of its economy. Thanks to monetary stabilisation and far-reaching reforms great progress has been made in the economic field. This progress can be stimulated further by strengthening MERCOSUL, as you yourself advocate. Our country owes much of its prosperity to the European integration which was achieved after the Second World War. We therefore wish to encourage cooperation between the EU and MERCOSUL and sincerely support the declaration signed at the summit conference last May in Madrid. Mr President, Your accession to office is still fresh in our memory. The elections which preceded it were followed with keen interest throughout the world, and also in the Netherlands. They demonstrated how firmly democracy is rooted in Brazil. A well-anchored democracy can endure extensive and far-reaching changes. Your compatriots have high expectations of this. There are still substantial differences in wealth and income. As friends of Brazil, we too look forward with interest and anticipation to your plans and endeavours in the social field and we wish you every success. Perhaps you will draw inspiration in this difficult task from the apt words of Johan Maurits of Nassau, which I also quoted on your predecessor's visit: "Do not think that the citadel of government consists of walls and ramparts: it lies in men's inmost hearts. Moreover, the true greatness of states cannot be measured by vast plains, landed estates and power, but by the loyalty, goodwill and respect of their inhabitants." These are words that have lost none of their significance in more than three hundred years. May I propose a toast to your health, Mr President, to that of Mrs Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, to a bright future for your country and your people and to the auspicious continuation of our historic friendship.