Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Monday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with whom he discussed extreme right-wing movements in both countries, as well as discussing trade and environmental issues. Scholz, wearing a dark suit and tie, arrived at the Planalto palace shortly before 4:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT), where he was greeted with a handshake by the leftist president, who was wearing a red tie.
This is the first official visit by a German head of government to Brazil since 2015, and the first leader of Western powers to meet Lula since he took power on January 1.
Scholz arrives in Brazil after visiting and meeting with the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, and Chile, Gabriel Boric.
The objective of his tour of South America is to expand bilateral trade, the flow of investment and the financing of projects in the three countries. After the bilateral meeting, the heads of government would receive businessmen from both countries and give a joint press conference.
Lula and Scholz “discussed the major issues on the international agenda, in the context of revitalizing the strategic alliance between the two countries, including peace and security, energy transition, climate change,” among others, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released this Monday.