On the eve of the G20 summit, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) participates in a series of bilateral meetings with other leaders this Sunday (17). Between meetings, the PT member spoke with the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, about the “need for progress in improving the service provided” by the Italian energy distributor Enel.
The Italian government is one of the company’s main shareholders. Enel is responsible for distributing electricity in São Paulo. In October, the capital of São Paulo faced a blackout for almost a week after heavy rains.
Another blackout had already hit the city and the metropolitan region in November 2023. At the time, residents were left without electricity for around four days. During the meeting, Lula invited Meloni to return to Brazil for a business meeting between the two countries.
The prime minister highlighted that Italian companies have plans to invest 40 billion euros in Brazil. She also spoke about updating the partnership and economic cooperation agreements between Brazil and Italy.
Lula discusses the EU-Mercosur agreement with the president of the European Commission
This afternoon, Lula had a meeting with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. On social media, she confirmed that the two spoke about the agreement.
Both the president of the European Commission and Planalto did not disclose further details. In the publication, Von der Leyen said that “Europe fully supports the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty”.
Taxation of the super-rich
In the first bilateral meeting of the day, Lula received the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, who will assume the presidency of the G20 after Brazil. The two talked about the “proposal to tax 2% of the 3,000 richest individuals on the planet, who hold assets worth 15 trillion dollars.”
The Brazilian president asked Ramaphosa to continue the G20 Social, who “guaranteed that he must continue Brazil’s work” in the group.
Afterwards, Lula spoke with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, about the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, a Brazilian initiative that will be launched at the summit. The two discussed the importance of Malaysia in the semiconductor area and the possibility of the two countries advancing cooperation in this area.
The Brazilian president also met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, head of the United Arab Emirates delegation. In addition to ministers, the director of Monetary Policy and future president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, participated in the meeting.
According to the government, a “memorandum of understanding for investments by the United Arab Emirates in strategic projects in Brazil in areas such as energy and other forms of infrastructure” was signed.
Brazil’s cooperation and proposals in the G20
The PT member received the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, who also defended the need for UN reform and declared support for Brazil’s demand to become a permanent member of the Security Council.
At the following meeting, Lula spoke with the president of Angola, João Lourenço, about the alignment of the two countries in relation to the main themes proposed by Brazil at the G20: the reform of global institutions, the fight against hunger and the energy transition.
At the end of the afternoon, the president heard the suggestion from the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, for the creation of a high council to deepen the relationship between the two countries. According to Planalto, the Turkish president also suggested “partnerships in the areas of civil aviation and defense and also in the construction and energy sectors, including in the New PAC”.
Lula also discussed the war in Gaza with the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The Egyptian leader also spoke about the possibilities of cooperation in the industrial, defense and cultural areas, with the exchange of historical pieces for Brazilian museums.
