President spoke on the phone with the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia this Monday (13 January)
The President (PT) invited this Monday (13 January 2025) the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, for an official visit to Brazil. The monarch is the same one who gave jewelry worth an estimated R$5 million to the then president (PL), in 2021.
According to Palácio do Planalto, Lula wants to receive the prime minister to “to reciprocate the reception offered to him in Riyadh in November 2023”.
In the telephone conversation, Lula highlighted the growth in trade flow between the 2 countries. Currently, the Arab country is Brazil’s largest trading partner in the Middle East.
The president also thanked Saudi Arabia for joining the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and confirmed the strengthening of relations, with an emphasis on energy cooperation and increasing exports of higher value-added products.
The 2 were together in November 2023 during a . On the occasion, the Brazilian government announced that they discussed strengthening bilateral relations between the countries and opportunities for national companies in the Arab country.
It was Mohammed bin Salman who gave it to Bolsonaro. The pieces would be a gift from Saudi Arabia to the then Brazilian president and first lady Michelle Bolsonaro. The items were not declared to authorities upon entering Brazil.
On Thursday (January 9), the PF (Federal Police) sent it to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) in the process that investigates the illegal sale abroad of jewelry received from Saudi Arabia by the former president’s administration.
WHO IS THE SAUDI PRINCE
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is 39 years old and runs the country autocratically. He was Minister of Defense and since September 2022 he has been Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed bin Salman rose to prominence in recent years after he began making all decisions in the country. The prince’s father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is 89 years old and suffers from .
The prince’s rise to power was considered positive in international diplomatic circles, which expected a reformist and modernizing mandate. Mohammed bin Salman (who is also known by the acronym MBS, with the initial letters of his name), reduced the powers of the religious police and decreed the . Saudi Arabia also started allowing women in football stadiums.
The prince was accused by the CIA (US Central Intelligence Agency) of being the in 2018, but in December 2022, the US Justice.
