Madrid (EFE) bilateral relationship during the term of Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula’s first visit to Europe
Lula began his first visit to Europe in Portugal since he re-acceeded to the Brazilian Presidency to replace Bolsonaro and arrived in Spain on Tuesday with an agenda that included a first act with Spanish businessmen whom he invited to continue investing in their country.
These investments, the negotiation of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur, relations in general between Europe and Latin America, the fight against climate change and the war in Ukraine will be present in the conversations between the Brazilian president and Lula and the king.
First date in Moncloa
The first meeting is at the Moncloa Palace, where Sánchez and Lula will be accompanied by several of their ministers and will preside over the signing of various agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in a series of areas.
In Portugal, Lula has reiterated his commitment to a peace dialogue in Ukraine stressing that the war cannot continue indefinitely and insisted on creating a table with countries that give confidence to achieve that peace.
Sánchez will listen to that proposal from Lula, although according to Moncloa sources he will make the Spanish position clear, which defends that any peace negotiation go through the vision of Ukraine in this regard as the attacked country that it is.
International economic and financial stability (Brazil will hold the G20 presidency in 2024) or the UN sustainable development goals will also be in the talks between the two delegations.
Strengthen relations between the EU and Latin America
In the bilateral field, Lula will be informed that Spanish companies continue to see Brazil as a destination for their long-term investments and that Spain is the gateway for Brazilian investments both to the EU and to the Maghreb and the entire African continent.
Another objective of the visit is to also strengthen the relationship between the EU and Latin America, in which context the Government highlights the fact that Spain will assume the semi-annual community presidency on July 1 and that will coincide with the Brazilian presidency of Mercosur.
A coincidence that they believe will allow the EU-Latin America and Caribbean summit to be held on July 17 and 18 in Brussels to have tangible results and serve, for example, to promote a final agreement between the EU and Mercosur.
In this regard, there is hope that in the coming months this desire pursued for so many years can become a reality.
It will be after his meeting with Sánchez when Lula will go to the Royal Palace for his meeting with Felipe VI, who will then offer him lunch.