Brazil’s Lula To Fly To Colombia Tuesday

By Pedro Peduzzi 

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will travel to Colombia on Tuesday (Apr. 16) where he is expected to meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro the following day. The event will take place in the capital Bogotá.

According to the Planalto presidential palace, the topics on the agenda include trade and investment, sustainability, Amazon cooperation, social programs, human rights, and family farming.

The Brazilian president should also take part in the Brazil–Colombia Business Forum and the inauguration of the 36th Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBo), where Brazil is a guest of honor.

In an interview on the trip, the Foreign Ministry’s Director for South America João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz, pointed out that the two countries “have an important contingent of people of African descent as well as indigenous people, and priority should be given to strengthening these sectors in society. These are two governments that share a similar view of the Amazon situation and of South American and regional integration more broadly.”

A press conference is planned after Wednesday’s meeting, followed by lunch. President Lula will then take part in a business forum promoted by ApexBrasil and the trade promotion agency ProColombia, which is expected to bring together around 300 Brazilian and Colombian investors from various sectors.

Next, the president will take part in the inauguration of the Bogotá International Book Fair, whose motto is Read Nature. The Brazilian delegation will include national artists such as Ailton Krenak, Daiara Tukano, Eliane Potiguara, Bernardo Carvalho, and Hermeto Pascoal.

“Before President Lula’s engagements in Bogotá, a parliamentary mission, organized by the president’s Secretariat for Institutional Relations will be held, with a view to establishing contacts between Brazilian and Colombian lawmakers on common matters of interest. A seminar will also take place, on the topic of family farming, where experiences from the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming will be shared,” an official note reads.
 
Brazil is Colombia’s third largest trading partner. In 2023, the two countries traded $6.1 billion. Brazilian exports amounted to $3.8 billion and Colombian exports to $2.3 billion. Over 70 Brazilian companies are based in Colombia, the government reports.