Brazil’s Lula To Fly To Washington In March To Meet With Trump
By Pedro Rafael Vilela
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Tuesday (Jan. 27) he will travel to the US in March for a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump. The meeting will take place at the White House, in Washington, D.C.
Lula confirmed the trip upon arriving in Panama, Central America, where he is participating as a special guest at the International Economic Forum of Latin America and the Caribbean, at the invitation of the host country. The event takes place Wednesday (28).
“In early March, I’ll travel to Washington because the US and Brazil are the two main democracies in the West, and I believe that two heads of state need to talk face to face so that we can discuss the good relations between Brazil and the US,” said the president in a brief conversation with journalists upon arrival at his hotel in Panama City.
“I’m convinced that we’ll return to normal soon, that we will strengthen multilateralism, and that we will get the economies growing again, because that’s what the people expect from all of us,” he added.
Lula and Trump spoke by phone on Monday and discussed a number of issues, including the situation in Venezuela, the peace plan for the Gaza Strip, and the fight against organized crime, according to an official statement from the Planalto presidential palace.
In Panama, the Brazilian leader was also asked about the crisis in Venezuela as well as the US military presence in the Caribbean. He said he spoke twice with the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, in the days following the US military invasion in Caracas, adding, however, that he will call Nicolás Maduro’s successor again.
“I spoke twice with President Delcy, but I didn’t go into detail because she was very concerned about the events, which were really recent. I’ll speak with President Delcy again soon. I hope she can get the job done. It’s important that President Trump allows Venezuela to take care of its sovereignty democratic interests. We’ll see what happens. It’s all really recent, and I think we have to be a little patient because the Venezuelan people themselves will find a solution for the Venezuelan people,” he declared.
Lula said he has been talking to different international leaders in defense of multilateralism, citing the conversation he had on Monday with France’s Emmanuel Macron, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and Trump himself the day before.
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