President Shimon Peres will be the first Israeli president to address both houses of the National Congress of Brazil.
He is scheduled to speak before the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday in the course of his state visit there. Prior to delivering his historic address, Peres will be conferred with honorary citizenship of Brazil.
It will be interesting to see if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be similarly honored when he visits Brazil later in the month. Peres will also receive honorary Argentinean citizenship in Buenos Aires.
While Peres will deal with diplomatic relations between Israel and Brazil and Israel and Argentina, and will try to impress the political leaders of both countries of the need to curb the Iranian nuclear program, the 40-member business delegation traveling with him will do its utmost to upgrade trade between Israel and those two countries.
Israeli exports to Brazil plunged 52 percent this year over last year, amounting to only $499 million for the first three quarters of the year.
Trade is picking up slightly, and the Israel Export Institute estimates that for the year, exports to Brazil will be around $670m., a drop of 43%.
Similarly, exports to Argentina fell by 45% between January and September, reaching only $54m. The anticipated figure for the whole of 2009 is $71m. an overall drop of 41%.
Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov, who is traveling with Peres, will sign two significant tourism agreements in Brazil, and will hold several working meetings with religious and tourism industry leaders to encourage both religious pilgrimages and regular tourism to Israel.
Peres will sign a series of economic cooperation agreements in both Brazil and Argentina.
One of the highlights of the visit to Brazil will be the dedication of an Israel Avenue in Brasilia.
