The meetings took place after the Brazilian president’s opening speech to the UN assembly and covered environmental issues and discussions on the MercosurEuropean Union agreement.
Lula and Alexander Van der Bellen
247 After his opening speech at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva continued his agenda of bilateral meetings and held significant meetings with world leaders.
MEETING WITH THE AUSTRIAN PRESIDENT On Tuesday afternoon (19), the Brazilian President met with the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. During the conversation, the Austrian President praised Lula’s speech at the United Nations, which emphasized the importance of global unity against inequality, hunger and climate change. The two leaders discussed environmental issues, including expectations related to the COP30, which will take place in Belém in 2025, as well as the energy transition and the search for clean energy sources. Lula highlighted Brazil’s commitment to embarking on “green industrialization” with low carbon emissions and leveraging the country’s clean energy matrix.
The discussion also touched on the Global Alliance for Biofuels, which was launched during the G20 summit in New Delhi, in which Brazil plays an important role due to its expertise in sustainable biofuel production. Lula also mentioned a joint project with United States President Joe Biden focused on decent work, scheduled to launch on September 20.
The Brazilian President also took the opportunity to talk about strengthening trade relations and investments between Brazil and Austria and invited President Van der Bellen on a business trip to Brazil.
CONTINUED AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS
Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Austria date back to the beginning of the 19th century and have intensified over time, culminating in several bilateral agreements in areas such as economics, education, science and technology. In 2022, the trade volume between the two countries reached around $1.5 billion.
MEETING WITH THE FEDERAL CHANCELLOR In addition to meeting the Austrian President, Lula also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a publication on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the Brazilian head of state reported that one of the topics discussed was the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.
On this topic, Lula stated: “I think it is important that we bring this year and the current global situation to a close.” In addition, Brazil’s head of government announced that he would visit Germany in December this year: “We will for two days work together between our governments to deepen cooperation, relationships and investments between our countries.”