President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived, this Wednesday (14), in Cairo, capital of Egypt, for a two-day visit. The official agendas begin tomorrow (15), when there will be a meeting with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, signing of bilateral acts and a statement to the press. Lula will also pay a visit to the headquarters of the League of Arab States.
This is the president’s second official trip to the African continent in his third term. In August last year, Lula was in three countries – South Africa, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The fight against inequality and hunger, the energy transition and climate change and the reform of international institutions, in addition to expanding trade between Brazil and African countries, are among the topics that President Lula should address on this trip to the continent, which also includes a visit to Ethiopia.
Egypt
The visit to Cairo celebrates 100 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Egypt. The country is currently Brazil’s second largest trading partner in Africa, behind only Algeria.
In 2023, bilateral trade between the countries reached US$2.8 billion – US$489 million in Egyptian products imported by Brazil and US$1.83 billion in Brazilian products exported. In the case of Algeria, the trade balance reached US$4.2 billion last year.
The Brazilian government’s expectation is that trade between nations will increase in the coming years, after the opening of the Egyptian market to several Brazilian products in 2023, such as fish and derivatives, poultry meat, cotton, bananas and gelatin and collagen.
Soon, the African country’s government should also approve new slaughterhouses and slaughterhouses in Brazil for beef exports. The opening of an air route between the two countries, connecting São Paulo to Cairo, will also be discussed.
In 2024, Egypt became a member of the Brics, a bloc that brings together emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The African country will also participate in the G20 at the invitation of the Brazilian government, which, until December, presides over the bloc of 20 largest economies in the world.
Ethiopia
This Thursday, at the end of the day, the Brazilian delegation will depart for Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, where President Lula will participate, as a guest, in the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, on the 16th and 17th.
Bilateral meetings are also planned.
In addition to the Brazilian president, the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, are expected to participate in the summit.