After 17 months of diplomacy, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice was only able to get 12 of the 15 countries on the United Nations Security Council to vote to place increased sanctions on the Islamic Republic's illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"We now see a huge number of possibilities from South-South trade and a lot of our effort is being deployed there," [Trade and Industry Minister Rob] Davies told a news conference. The weakness of the euro and the European economy in general was encouraging this process, he said.

Reaching out to the two countries that voted against new sanctions on Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that she thought Brazil and Turkey would continue to play an important role in diplomatic efforts with the Iranian government.

A congress was held in Hanoi on June 4 to establish the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship Association. Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Van Lang was elected as Chairman of the Association. The congress adopted an action plan to promote cultural exchange and boost education and sports cooperation between the two countries.

One of Brazil’s most influential weekly magazines with strong penetration in political and business circles, ‘Veja’ has a main article this week calling neighbouring Paraguay the “rich beggar”, a role which the successive Paraguayan governments “have played to success attracting significant international aid and grants”.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday the United States has serious disagreements with Brazil over its efforts to mediate with Iran over its nuclear program. But Clinton stressed the United States desire for good relations with the emerging South American power.

One of the great qualifications for a regional power in ascendance to a great power is to mediate into a dispute beyond its sphere of influence from the time that particular nation is born and made independent in contemporary times...However the last week has made the clock to turn back when the Brazil diplomacy under their President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva decided to mediate in a dispute far away from the region of South America.

The international community, including Turkey and Brazil, is in staunch opposition to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We are also dedicated to achieving a world without nuclear weapons.