Lula announces that Brazil will back the African Union's entry to G20

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met today (21) with the president of the Union of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Lula addressed the relations between the two nations and announced Brazil's support for the African Union's demand to become part of the G20.

The president of Brazil gave his Comorian colleague – who currently presides over the African bloc of 54 member countries – a positive answer to the request he received in February. Brazil will preside over the G20 in 2023. Lula reiterated that Africa is "very important to Brazil," particularly from a historical and human point of view, and said he intends to revisit the continent.

Assoumani celebrated Lula's answer and enthusiasm for the African continent and stated that Lula plays a fundamental role in leading developing countries.

Both presidents also agreed that there must be greater technological cooperation between Brazil and Africa. Lula observed that the friendship with Africa was an important characteristic of his first two terms in office: new embassies were established, and cooperation in education increased, for example.

One of the ideas addressed during the meeting was the expansion of initiatives through development banks such as the African Development Bank and Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social/BNDES) for infrastructure development.