This was Lula’s first commitment on that continent in his third term, which he assumed on January 1.
Upon his return from a trip to Belgium, where he participated Monday and Tuesday in the 3rd. Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the European Union (EU), the Brazilian president scheduled a lightning passage through the archipelago on the African coast that, like Brazil, is part of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
Lula and Neves made a statement in Praia, the Cape Verdean capital, after the meeting broadcast on national public television and in which the latter pondered the return of the South American giant to international discussion forums.
With this return, according to the founder of the Workers’ Party, the Government intends to resume ties with the countries of Africa.
“Now, with my return to the Presidency, we want to recover the good and productive (relationship) that Brazil had with the African continent,” said the former trade unionist.
He promised to return to Cape Verde for a head of state visit to discuss the relationship between the two nations.
He also announced he plans to visit a number of African nations this year and next, and wants to open embassies in unrepresented countries in the region.
In the same way, the mechanical turner pointed out he seeks to listen to experts to define how Brazil can help African countries and in this sense he mentioned areas such as education, industry and agriculture.
Such aid would be a form of payment for the period in which Africans were enslaved in Brazil.
“Brazilians are made up of the African people. Our culture, our color, our size, is the result of the mixture of Indians, blacks and Europeans,” recalled the petista.
He insisted there is “a deep gratitude to the African continent for everything that happened during 350 years of slavery in our country.”
This Wednesday, Lula left Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where he met with the press, addressing, among other issues, the commitment to zero deforestation in the Amazon, efforts to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, rejecting the sanctions against Venezuela and expressed hope for the end this year reach an agreement between the EU and the Southern Common Market.
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