The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will end his visit to Brazil this Thursday (28/3). Macron will have a series of meetings, which begin in the morning at Palácio do Planalto with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
At around 11:30 am, the French president will be received at Planalto with honors and will then enter into a bilateral meeting with the Brazilian chief executive.
At 1pm, the presidents sign agreements between the two countries (see details below) and leave for a press conference.
After their commitments at Planalto, Lula and Macron will go to lunch at the Itamaraty Palace, with authorities from the Three Brazilian Powers.
In the afternoon, the Frenchman will have a meeting with the president of Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), in the Senate. There will be no official visit to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), as the institution will be closed due to the Easter holiday.
Lula-Macron-Belém (2)
President Macron visiting Brazil
Ricardo Stuckert/PR
Lula-Macron-Belém (1)
President Lula and Emmanuel Macron
Ricardo Stuckert/PR
Macron-Lula-cacique-Raoni
Emmanuel Macron, Lula and indigenous leader Chief Raoni
Ricardo Stuckert/PR
Lula-Macron-cacique-Raoni (1)
French president praises indigenous leader’s career
Ricardo Stuckert/PR
Lula-Macron-cacique-Raoni (3)
Chief Raoni receives decoration from President Emmanuel Macron
Ricardo Stuckert/PR
To go back
To progress
0
Agreements
On the first day of Macron’s visit to Brazil, on Tuesday (26/3), the presidents held a bilateral meeting to discuss actions related to the green agenda. During the meeting, the heads of state signed two documents in the environmental area: an action plan on bioeconomy and protection of tropical forests and the “Brazil-France call for climate ambition from Paris to Belém and beyond”.
One of the agreements provides for the investment of 1 billion euros – equivalent to R$5.4 billion – to encourage the bioeconomy in the Brazilian Amazon and French Guiana over the next four years. The partnership involves the French Development Agency and Brazilian public banks, such as Banco da Amazônia and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
According to Itamaraty, there are around 30 bilateral acts being negotiated. Of these, it is estimated that up to 15 could be adopted during Macron’s visit to Brazil. Among the topics are agreements in the areas of health, energy, public management and culture.
Lula and Macron are also expected to discuss issues related to Brazil’s presidency of the G20, the reform of global governance institutions, such as the United Nations (UN) Security Council, and the ongoing conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
On a visit to Germany at the end of 2023, Lula spoke about reforms at the UN: “More people are needed. […] Being on the Security Council is not a privilege of just five countries. The geopolitics of 1945 is not the geopolitics of 2023. A lot has changed in the world, the only thing that has not changed is the irrationality of the irrational.”
The Brazilian president’s criticism of the institution has been frequent, especially due to the delay in approving a ceasefire and humanitarian measures in the war between Israel and Hamas, a group in Palestine.
Among the agendas, the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) should be discussed, but there is no expectation for a conclusion anytime soon. This is because France will only deal with the matter at the end of the votes for the European Parliament, in June this year.
