The Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, meets this Monday with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, with whom hopes to discuss far-right movements in both countriesin addition to addressing trade and environmental issues.
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Scholz, wearing a dark suit and tie, arrived at the Planalto palace shortly before 4 pm local time, where he was greeted with a handshake by the leftist president, who was wearing a red tie.
This is the first official visit by a German head of government to Brazil since 2015, and the first leader of the Western powers to meet with Lula since he took power on January 1.
Scholz arrives in Brazil after visiting and meeting with the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, and Chile, Gabriel Boric. The objective of his tour of South America is to expand bilateral trade, the flow of investment and financing of projects in the three countries.
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After the bilateral meeting, the heads of government They will receive businessmen from both countries and will give a joint press conference.
Lula and Scholz “will discuss the major issues on the international agenda, in the context of revitalizing the strategic alliance between the two countries, including peace and security, energy transition, climate change,” among others, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released this Monday.
Scholz’s tour culminates in the evening with a dinner at the Itamaraty Palace, seat of the Foreign Ministry, before returning to Berlin on Tuesday.
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Topics to be discussed between the leaders
Lula hopes to speak with Scholz about the extreme right, which he considers “an international movement” and whose confrontation must be jointsaid the leftist in his first interview since taking office, in mid-January.
In addition, Lula and Scholz, leaders of the largest economies in Latin America and Europe respectively, will address the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, sealed in 2019 after 20 years of negotiations, but without parliamentary approval and with strong criticism from both sides.
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Lula considers the conclusion of the agreement “urgent”, but defends that first negotiations with Europe must be resumed so that Brazil does not have to give up its interest in “re-industrializing”. Scholz said for his part in Buenos Aires that the goal in Berlin is “to come to a quick conclusion.”
Defense of the Amazon
Another item on the agenda is the resumption of Germany’s contribution to the Amazon Forest Conservation Fund, announced after Lula’s electoral victory.
Contributions to the fund had been suspended during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), when deforestation reached records, generating controversies with European leaders, especially from France and Germany.
The German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze, announced on Monday Berlin’s intention to allocate new funds to the protection of Amazonian forests, in addition to the 38 million dollars that have already been announced for the Amazon Fund, after meeting in Brasilia with the Brazilian Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva.
AFP
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