The president wants to show that “Brazil is back” after four years of isolation in the region promoted by the government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
The progressive leader is received by his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernández on Monday at Casa Rosada, where they later meet business people, and in the evening they attend a concert with artists from both countries.
READ ALSO: Man arrested for threatening to kill Lula on social media
According to the Brazilian government, the bilateral meeting will focus on Mercosur, financial and energy integration, trade, investment, environment, infrastructure, defence, disarmament, countering illegal activities and nuclear cooperation.
In an interview published this Sunday by the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Fernández announced that they will also analyze the formulas to intensify the production of electric vehicles with “large” lithium reserves in his country.
Brazil is Argentina’s main trading partner, the third largest source of Brazilian imports.
You may be interested in: Lula gains momentum after a coup attempt left untouched by Bolsonaro
On Tuesday, Lula attended the seventh Heads of State and Government of the Commonwealth of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). He will attend the summit.
The presence of the leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) marks Brazil’s return to this international forum, which the Bolsonaro government left in 2020.
“This is a good time for Brazil to return to Celac,” Fernández told Folha de Sao Paulo. “It is very important that a country does not participate in international forums, as in Bolsonaro,” he said.
According to him, Celac will now embark on “a new phase of regional integration in which Brazil will play a leading role”.
In Argentina, Lula has scheduled bilateral talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cuban Miguel Díaz-Canel, but this has yet to be confirmed.
He will also meet with the Chinese Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and reaffirm Brazil’s commitment to this organization.
On Wednesday, he traveled to Uruguay to meet President Luis Lacalle Pou.
In Montevideo, Lula will reiterate “the importance he attaches to his partner in the Mercosur project”, a bloc signed by Argentina and Paraguay that is “one of the priorities of the new Brazilian government”. Negotiate a unilateral trade deal with China.
Source: Ultimahora
Source link
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
