Macron to visit Brazilian naval base in Itaguai

Today, French President Macron will visit Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Itaguai for the opening ceremony of Brazil’s third conventional submarine, the “Tonelero”.

The development and production of these submarines are the result of a Strategic Partnership agreement signed between France and Brazil in 2009. Defense cooperation has been a significant step towards improving relations between the two countries, which share a rich historical heritage. Early in his first presidential term, Lula set the goal of ensuring the creation of highly mobile specialized tactical forces and increasing deterrence capacity. The launch of Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine, currently under active development, is intended to serve the deterrence objective. A key focus of Lula’s foreign policy is maintaining Brazil’s decision autonomy and asserting it as a powerful player in the Global South. Therefore, in recent years substantial investments have been made in the modernization of military equipment alongside maintaining a high defense budget.

Defense cooperation with France is spurring growth in innovation, thereby benefiting various civilian industries. Lula’s efforts also see Brazil confidently moving towards establishing its own robust defense industrial base. This may not only reduce dependency on technology imports but also potentially provide Brazil with the opportunity to export its unique equipment in the long run.