Lula and Egyptian president call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expand partnership

A call for a ceasefire in Gaza, actions to deepen trade relations, an invitation for an official visit to Brazil, the signing of agreements and the consolidation of a new level of relations, based on mutual interests in spaces such as the BRICS and the G20.

At a time when we should be talking about increasing food production for the world, economic growth and income distribution, we are talking about war. War brings no benefit to anyone, it brings death, destruction and suffering”

Brazil's President,

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva discussed all these topics on Thursday morning, February 15, with the President of Egypt, Abdul Fattah El-Sisi, during an official State visit. The event in Cairo celebrates 100 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Egypt. Immediately after the meeting, the presidents made a joint statement to the press.

» High resolution images (Flickr)

» Full text of President Lula's press statement

GAZA - Lula and El-Sisi spoke about the importance of resuming a peace process in the Middle East and defended an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. For Lula, who is making his second visit to Egypt, the current moment and the challenges on the world scenario call for even more intense cooperation between nations.

“At a time when we should be talking about increasing food production for the world, economic growth and income distribution, we are talking about war. War brings no benefit to anyone, it brings death, destruction and suffering”, lamented the president, who once again called for a reform of global governance institutions. “It's a shame that the multilateral institutions, created to resolve these situations, don't work”.

“We agree that an immediate and sustained ceasefire is very important, as is the necessity of getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza. We are thinking especially of the post-war phase, which requires the establishment of a Palestinian State whose capital is Jerusalem, and I am grateful for the Brazilian president's recognition of the Palestinian State," said President El-Sisi.

The Brazilian president highlighted the necessity of changing the structure of the UN Security Council, which has been powerless to prevent conflicts such as in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip and where the power of veto has been used to prevent more concrete actions. He recalled that many of the recent wars were started precisely by nations that are members of the Council.

REPATRIATION - Lula thanked the Egyptian government for its essential support in the process of enabling the withdrawal of 117 Brazilian-Palestinians who had been stranded in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the conflict, as part of Operation Returning in Peace.

G20 - During the meeting, the Egyptian president confirmed that he will be coming to Brazil in November, both to participate as a guest ruler at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro and for an official visit to Brazil, at Lula's invitation. It will be the first trip by an Egyptian president to the country since the arrival of Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The intention is to expand the trade relationship between the countries, which has grown since the Mercosur agreement came into effect in 2017.

CULTURE - The presidents also discussed cooperation and the loan of pieces to the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro. The Egyptian president said he was very saddened when he heard about the fire at the institution on September 2, 2018, which destroyed pieces unlike any other in the world.