Brazil’s Lula to attend African Union (AU) Summit
President Lula da Silva will attend the 37th African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia.
Lula’s participation in the summit follows a two-day visit to Egypt where Cairo and Rio de Janeiro signed an agreement to facilitate meat exports from Brazil to Egypt as well as an agreement on science and technology cooperation.
Lula has recently deepened ties with African countries, departing from former president Jair Bolsonaro’s foreign policy which involved little engagement with the African continent. In August of 2023, the Brazilian president visited Angola and signed seen memorandums of understanding in fields including tourism, health and agriculture.
Lula’s visit to the AU comes at a time where Brazil’s trade volume has declined over the past 10 years. Following the meeting, however, expect closer engagement between Brazil and African countries, especially as Egypt and Ethiopia’s accession to BRICS gets finalized this year. Additionally, Brazil’s political significance on the continent is expected to grow in the medium-term as Brazil, current president of the G20, cooperates with the AU to put African interests on the G20 agenda. In the long-term, expect greater Brazil-Africa cooperation under a shared pro-Global South agenda which seeks to address inequality, hunger, climate change, and the reform of international institutions.
