With the head of the German Federal Council, Lula articulates the expansion of investments

The strengthening of the relations between the German regional governors and Brazil, expanding pre-existing cooperation terms in the bioenergy sector and signaling new opportunities for the relationships between Brazilian businesspeople and those of the European country. This was the tone of the conversation between president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the president of the German Federal Council, Manuela Schwesig.

The entity comprises local governments in a structure similar to the Brazilian Senate. Schwesig, who is also the governor of Mecklenburg, in East Pomerânia, met with Lula at the headquarters of the Federal Council in Berlin.

During the work meeting, they discussed the current state of cooperation terms between the two countries, highlighting the investments in bioenergy, and stressed the importance of democracy, especially in the face of the threats posed by the far-right.

Schwesig expressed appreciation for the return of a democratic government in Brazil and exalted the long-term, solid relationship between Brazil and Germany, which includes companies from her state in businesses in the field of bioenergy in Brazil, in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, which use the offcuts of animal farming to generate energy.

She anticipated that a large number of businesspeople from her region would attend the entrepreneurial gathering between Brazil and Germany scheduled for this Monday afternoon.

“We will strengthen our partnerships and cooperation in various areas. We are resuming the conversations with the Germans that had been abandoned in previous governments, [Germany being] one of the biggest and most advanced economies of the world”, said president Lula in one of his social network profiles.

CONTEXT - President Lula’s visit to Germany occurs in the backdrop of the II High-Level Consultation Meetings, the highest mechanism of German-Brazilian relations, which held its only meeting in Brasília, on August 19 and 20, 2015. The then-Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Brazil alongside seven Ministers and five Federal Vice-Ministers.

Around twenty agreements between the two countries are expected to be celebrated, in areas such as the environment, climate change, global development, agriculture, bioeconomy, energy, health, science, technology, and innovation.

The Brazilian delegation’s schedule started on Sunday, with a working dinner hosted by the Federal Chancellor Scholz.

Today (Monday), the Brazilian president started the day in a meeting with the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and will hold meetings with businesspeople and a press conference.

CONTEXT - The Brazil-Germany relations are going through a special moment in 2023. The process of revitalizing strategic partnerships is clear from the multiple visits of German authorities at the highest level. Among them were President Steinmeier, Chancellor Scholz and seven of the 16 German Ministers, including the Federal Vice-Chancellor and Minister of the Economy and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, and the Federal Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock.

The fifth meeting between President Lula and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who preside over the High-Level Consultations, will be in 2023, in the German capital.

BACKDROP - According to the International Monetary Fund, Germany is currently the 3rd largest world economy. Both countries are partners in trade and investments, especially in the industrial sector. Between January and October 2023, bilateral trade reached US$ 15.98 billion. In 2022, the trade flow exceeded US$ 19.07 billion.

Germany was Brazil’s fourth largest source of imports last year. Over a thousand German companies have businesses in Brazil. According to the Central Bank, Germany is the 8th source of direct investment in Brazil, with a stock of US$ 23.73 billion.

Brazil and Germany have had meetings of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission since 1974. The mechanism’s jubilee, with its 50th meeting, will occur in Germany, in 2024. Germany is Brazil’s biggest partner in technical and financial cooperation.