Lula commends unity between Brazil and Africa during press conference in Ethiopia

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke to journalists in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this Sunday (February 18), before embarking back to Brazil after five days in Africa. At the press conference, Lula spoke about the relationship between Brazil and African countries, highlighting the importance of the trip and of the bilateral meetings that were held with leaders of African countries.

“To me, this has been one of my most important trips, ever—and certainly, of all the meetings I will have, this is an extremely important one, because I was able to speak to almost all African countries at once,” stated the president. During his visit to Ethiopia, Lula took part in the opening ceremony of the African Union’s 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government, and attended four bilateral meetings with heads of states on the continent.

            FIND OUT MORE:

            Full transcript of the press conference given by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

In his press statement, the president also highlighted the historical, cultural and economic importance of Brazil's roots in Africa. “Firstly, because I am aware—and I would like Brazil to be aware—that we have to have a preferential relationship with Africa. Not only because Africa is part of our history, our culture, our way of being, our way of speaking, our way of singing, our color, but also because Africa is an extraordinary place for the future to those who believe that the Global South will be the novelty of the 21st century in the new world economy,” declared Lula.

The President began his visit by Egypt— where he took part in the extraordinary session of the League of Arab States, in Cairo—and from there flew to Ethiopia alongside Brazilian ministers Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs); Wellington Dias (Development and Social Assistance, Family and the Fight Against Hunger); Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation); Anielle Franco (Racial Equality); Silvio Almeida (Human Rights and Citizenship); Vinícius Marques de Carvalho (Comptroller General of the Union); and Special Advisor Audo Faleiro.

GLOBAL SOUTH — President Lula also emphasized the idea that Brazil and Africa are now part of the economy of the Global South, and that these countries have the necessary resources and potential to contribute to the world economy. “Now we are the economy of the Global South and we want to give ourselves a chance so that the Global South—which owns part of what the world needs today—can occupy its space in the global economy, politics and culture,” reiterated the President.

The term Global South refers to a group of countries that share political, geopolitical and economic characteristics; are responsible for half of the world's GDP; and are one of the main engines of global economic growth.

Africa is a part of the world that can grow a lot, and rich countries need to believe in the investment they have to make in it"

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio da Silva

Furthermore, President Lula highlighted the importance of BRICS as an opportunity to strengthen the Global South’s influence. The President believes that it is possible to include other African countries in the BRICS, as well as in the G20. Lula stated that BRICS is “an exceptional opportunity. "We think it is possible for other African countries to participate in the G20, but we are just getting started."

GROUP OF 20 — When answering questions by journalists, Lula also spoke about the importance of discussing—at the G20 meetings which will take place in Brazil in 2024—the functioning of global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. To the President, "Africa is a part of the world that can grow a lot and rich countries need to believe in the investment they have to make in it."

"People need to know that we want to discuss the functioning of financial institutions a great deal, and I feel very comfortable saying that. So we want to discuss this at the G20. We are going to invite the most important economists in the world to have this discussion, because we need it," emphasized Lula.

The President also defended that more countries should become part of the UN Security Council. To him, the Organization has not kept up with the change in current geopolitics, and this must be discussed. "The world is different, so we need to ensure that there is a more robust representation of a greater number of countries. That's why we are defending that there could be three countries from Africa, two from Latin America, there could be India, Germany, Japan. We need to add more people and end the right of veto in the UN, because it is not possible for a country alone to be able to veto the approval of something that was approved by all members," he observed.

NEW WORLD — When talking about Brazil's contribution and the construction of a new world where Africa can resume its growth, the President mentioned Brazil’s federal Mais Alimentos program, which promotes food production and increases the productivity of family farming through financing and technical assistance. According to Lula, the expansion of the program to both Latin America and Africa continent will be discussed.

“Brazil wants to humbly bring to Africa something that we can bring: the experience of the success of Brazilian agriculture. Let's discuss this to see if we can extend the More Food [Mais Alimentos] program to  Africa, to Latin America, that is, so that countries can buy agricultural machinery and implements cheaper, with longer financing, so that we can increase the agricultural production of small and medium-sized producers," he said.