Brazil and Spain Wednesday agreed to meet on March 23 to discuss an immigration dispute after Spanish authorities refused entry to at least 30 Brazilians.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said he wishes to study ways to solve the problems in a telephone conversation with his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim.
On March 6, customs authorities at Madrid's Barajas airport denied entry to 30 Brazilian citizens, including students on their way to a seminar in Portugal, after they presented all the necessary documents.
They returned home on a flight two days later and reported inappropriate treatment by the Spanish authorities.
Brazil's Foreign Ministry expressed its "displeasure" and mentioned the possibility of measures of reciprocity in a statement following the incident.
Subsequently, seven Spaniards were refused entry to Brazil at Rio's Tom Jobim International Airport and were sent back to Spain shortly afterwards.
A 31-year-old Spanish man received the same treatment after he failed to provide the address of the place where he was supposed to stay in Brazil.
According to a TV news program, which videotaped the conversation between the tourist and a federal police agent at the airport, his admission was denied "for the same reasons that Brazilians keep returning" from Spain.
According to Brazil's consulate general in Madrid, 452 Brazilians were blocked from entering Spain in January, and a total of 3,000 were refused admission in 2007.
Source:Xinhua
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