SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he wants to resume the “good and fruitful” relations his country used to have with Africa when he was in office for the first time in the 2000s.
During a trip to Cape Verde on his way back from the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels, Lula said he looks forward to visiting “several” African countries this year and the next as “Brazil has the potential to help Africa in several aspects.”
Lula, who took office in January for his third non-consecutive term, mentioned his country could have helped African nations to purchase COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.
“Now I want to have meetings with African leaders so we can see how Brazil can advance in helping the African continent,” the leftist leader said after meeting with Cape Verdean President Jose Maria Neves.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan)
