State Visit to Brazil by the President of Angola, João Lourenço – 22–23 May 2025

At the invitation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Angola, João Lourenço, paid a State visit to Brazil on 22 and 23 May. The event coincided with the celebrations of Africa Day, observed on 25 May, and was held in return for President Lula’s State visit to Luanda in August 2023. This was the third visit of a Head of State of Angola to Brazil.

Angola is one of Brazil’s main partners on the African continent, with strong cultural ties between the two peoples. This year, the country celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its independence, achieved on 11 November 1975. Brazil was the first country to recognise the Angolan State. Since then, the two countries have built a solid relationship, reaching, in 2010, the level of a Strategic Partnership.

On 22 May, President João Lourenço was received by the presidents of the Federal Senate, Senator Davi Alcolumbre; of the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy Hugo Motta; and of the Federal Supreme Court, Justice Luís Roberto Barroso.

On 23 May, the Angolan leader and his ministers were welcomed by President Lula at the Palácio do Planalto, where they held a working meeting at which bilateral, regional and multilateral matters were discussed. Four instruments were signed: (1) Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Women’s Promotion of the Republic of Angola for the creation of mechanisms to foster bilateral cooperation for the exchange of good practices in the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, persons affected by leprosy, and children and adolescents; (2) Project to strengthen Angolan agricultural and forestry research institutions for the sustainable development of semi-arid regions; (3) Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Police of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the National Police of Angola; and (4) Memorandum of Understanding between Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras and the National Fuel Company of Angola, Public Enterprise – Sonangol E.P., on research and development and projects of interest in the upstream.

Afterwards, President Lourenço was honoured at a luncheon offered by President Lula, attended by African ministers who took part in the Second Brazil–Africa Dialogue on Food Security, the Fight against Hunger and Rural Development, at the Itamaraty Palace.

Brazil maintains a significant trade flow with Angola. In 2024, Brazilian imports reached about USD 1.08 billion, an increase of 52 % compared to 2023. Exports, in turn, grew by 20 %, totalling USD 492.6 million. The main products exported that year were poultry meat (20 %); manufactured goods (4.8 %); and sugars and molasses (23 %). The main products imported were crude petroleum oils (94 %) and other petroleum fuel oils (6.2 %).