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The arrival of Lula and his wife in the United States (Presidency of Brazil)
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrived in Washington as part of his first visit to the country after returning to the Presidency of the South American giant. He is accompanied by Ministers Mauro Vieira, of Foreign Relations; Fernando Haddad, from Finance; Marina Silva, from the Environment; Anielle Franco, from Racial Equality; Ambassador Celso Amorim; the secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Commerce, Marcio Elias Rosa; and Senator Jacques Wagner.
Lula’s visit to the United States, just at the beginning of his term and at the invitation of President Biden, marks the restart of relations between the two countries, which in 2024 will celebrate 200 years of diplomacy, indicates a press release published by the page official of the Brazilian Presidency.
“Two of the largest democracies in the world, Brazil and the United States, face similar challenges related to political radicalization and hate speech in the virtual space. Also at the center of the agenda is the reactivation of the Brazilian commitment to environmental conservation and the search for a greater commitment from developed countries in fulfilling their financing commitments in the climate area”, he indicates.
Before the expected meeting with Joe Biden this Friday, Lula will have a busy agenda, since he will meet with Senator Bernie Sanders, with representatives of the Democratic Party, and also with representatives of the largest trade union center in the United States, AFL- CIO. She will return to Brazil on Saturday at noon.
Joe Biden, President of the USA (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
The Brazilian Executive indicated that, in the economic field, “efforts are being made to promote investments, particularly in energy transition and clean energy generation, and greater integration of production chains. The United States is Brazil’s second largest trading partner and the main destination for our exports of industrialized products”, he highlighted.
One of the unknowns is whether Biden will use the visit with Lula to announce what would be the first US contribution to the Amazon Fund, which was created in 2009 to help combat deforestation in the Amazon and was financed mainly with contributions from Norway and Germany. .
Norway and Germany froze their contributions to that fund with the advance of deforestation in the Amazon under the government of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023); but they have expressed their desire to resume them with Lula in power.
Beyond the Amazon, the other major theme of the meeting will be the defense of democracy, especially after Bolsonaro supporters stormed the headquarters of the three powers of the nation in Brasilia on January 8.
According to a high-ranking official consulted by the EFE news agency, the two leaders will talk about democracy in their own countries, but will also talk more broadly about initiatives to strengthen it regionally and around the world, including the call ” Democracy Summit ”that Biden has promoted and that will be held in March of this year.
Keep reading:
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