‘It will be great to have you with us, dear President Lula. See you in 19 days’

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, said this Saturday (3) that he expects Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to travel to Paris in 19 days. ‘It will be great to have you with us, dear president Lula’, wrote the French leader on Twitter.

Great to have you with us, dear President @LulaOficial. See you in 19 days! https://t.co/alkksqDpNx

—Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 3, 2023

President Lula is going to Paris to participate in a summit meeting on a new global financial pact and will have a bilateral meeting with Macron, according to government sources in both countries. The French leader has already articulated the preparations for this conference and will receive this Sunday (4th) at the Élysée, chief Raoni.

Macron’s advisory reported that he intends to reiterate, in the conversation with the Brazilian chief, his commitment to respect for indigenous peoples, and his determination to work for the conservation of natural environments and especially tropical forests, which are vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity treasures.

In this context, the defeat suffered by the Brazilian government with the approval in the Chamber of Deputies, on Tuesday (31), of the bill that establishes the validity of the thesis of the temporal framework, according to which the indigenous people only have the right to the territories that occupied at the time of the enactment of the 1988 Constitution, caused concern in Europe. The measure was criticized by indigenous associations, experts and European authorities.

Macron will also discuss with Raoni the objectives “of the summit that aims to create a new global financial pact, which will work to increase international solidarity in the fight against poverty, for the protection of nature and action for the climate, in addition to the Amazon summit, which will take place this year in Bethlehem”. Macron had already received Raoni in May 2019.

Emmanuel Macron will receive Brazilian President Lula in Paris on June 22 and 23 https://t.co/LLfK4sKPC6

— CNEWS (@CNEWS) June 3, 2023

In addition to president Lula, several participants have already confirmed their presence at the two days of debates in Paris: Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the UN, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, Olaf Scholz, chancellor of Germany, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique. The director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, will also be present, according to a diplomatic source.

“The fight against global warming, the preservation of biodiversity and contributing to the resolution of international crises will be on the agenda of the bilateral meeting” that Lula will have with Macron on the sidelines of the summit, highlights the note from the Élysée.

Lula and Macron already met at the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, on May 20, when they discussed bilateral cooperation in defense and the expansion of exchanges “in the cultural field”, in addition to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to the presidency of the Brazil.

Brazilian President Lula will be visiting Paris at the end of June to meet Emmanuel Macronhttps://t.co/82s5FAB7zM pic.twitter.com/3RP81msDoc

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) June 3, 2023

In a telephone conversation in January, Lula invited Macron to visit the country and visit, in Rio de Janeiro, the shipyard where a nuclear-powered submarine is being built, the result of cooperation between the two countries. But, so far, the French presidency has not announced any travel dates to Brazil.

Lula’s return to power in January rekindled ties between Brazil and France. Macron and former president Jair Bolsonaro have not enjoyed good relations, especially for Bolsonaro’s criticized management of protecting the Amazon, considered a key resource in the race to curb climate change.

France is also a key country in the negotiations for the signing of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which are being resumed. The French minister in charge of Foreign Trade, Olivier Becht, will travel to Brazil on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and “will not go to the country to negotiate”, since the discussions are conducted at European level. “But the matter will come up again” during the bilateral discussions, admitted a member of the French ministry. The European Union considers the strengthening of environmental conditions essential to the success of the negotiations.

One day before Lula’s activities in Paris, the Brazilian president will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican, Itamaraty confirmed. Francisco and Lula spoke on Wednesday by telephone about defending peace in Ukraine and fighting poverty, in a dialogue in which the Brazilian leader invited the pontiff to visit Brazil.

Published in RFI

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