Brazilian President Lula da Silva landed in Cairo today for a state visit with his counterpart, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, which will take place tomorrow, before he leaves in the evening for Ethiopia, where he will attend the 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the 55-nation African Union. Lula has indicated that one of the main topics he wants to discuss during his trip is “mediation in the Israeli conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.” New BRICS member Egypt is a leading participant in that process.
As was the case in his previous terms in office, Lula considers relations with Africa to be crucial for Brazil, writing in his profile on X that “Brazil has strong historical and cultural relations with the African continent and we should again take up the potential of that partnership with Africa.” Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro ignored Africa. This is Lula’s second trip to Egypt, having visited previously in 2003. That trip was the first time a Brazilian head of state had visited Egypt since the 1870s, when then-Emperor Dom Pedro II visited, according to the Brazilian presidential website.
