Brazil’s President Lula attends business meeting in Madrid

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has arrived today in Madrid, Spain, on the last stop of his official European tour. In the afternoon, Lula will take part in an event with Brazilian and Spanish businesspersons. On Wednesday (26), before returning to Brazil, he will meet with the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and with King Felipe VI.

Lula is in the Spanish capital following five days of events in Portugal – in the last of which, this morning, he will receive a tribute during a session of the Portuguese parliament Assembly of the Republic.

In the afternoon, around 4:30 PM, Lula will attend the Spain-Brazil Business Meeting, an event organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce to present Brazil as a country that is open to new European investments.

On Wednesday (26), Lula will pay a visit to Pedro Sánchez at the Moncloa Palace, the seat of government, in central Madrid.  The meeting will take place at 10:00 AM local time (5 AM in Brasilia). Next, at 2 PM (9 AM in Brasilia), the Brazilian president will have lunch with King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace.

RESETTING RELATIONS - The visit is part of the intense diplomatic agenda that the president began shortly after starting his third term in office, in January. Lula has already visited Argentina, Uruguay, the US and China. Portugal and Spain are his first official visits to Europe during this third term. Several heads of state attended his January 1 presidential inauguration – as well as other in-person events – or have held private one on one calls with him.

Spain is one of Brazil’s main foreign investors, second only to the US. Currently, the stock of Spanish investments is USD 63 billion. Among the more than 1 thousand Spanish companies now operating in the Brazilian market, main sectors are finance and communications.

Lula's trip is also important because of a pending issue: the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, of great interest to both Brazil and Spain. Coincidentally, Brazil will occupy the temporary presidency of Mercosur and Spain, the equivalent position in the EU during the two blocs’ next six-month term beginning on July 1.

Concerning bilateral trade, Brazilian exports to Spain almost doubled in 2022, to EUR 9 billion, driven especially by crude oil, soy and corn. The figure makes Brazil the 10^th largest supplier of goods to Spain.

Conversely, imports from Spain have increased by 38% in 2022 compared to 2021. The main products were petroleum derivatives, auto parts, and fertilizers.