Lula holds a bilateral meeting with the president of Iran in Johannesburg

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with the president of Iran Ebrahim Raisi today – August 24 – for the first time. The bilateral meeting took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, and following the announcement that Iran will be one of the bloc’s new members.

The leaders of current BRICS member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa announced this morning that Iran – alongside Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia – will become part of the bloc as of January 2024. This is the group's biggest expansion and the first since South Africa’s adhesion in 2011.

During his meeting with Lula, the Iranian president said he was thankful for Iran’s opportunity to join BRICS, and stated that he wants to expand trade relations with Brazil. Lula mentioned that Iran was the Middle East’s largest importer of Brazilian products in 2022.

Adding up to almost USD 4.3 billion in products, Iran ranked 18th in the general list of Brazil’s greatest importers in 2022. President Raisi said that his country has advanced in the production of medical equipment as well as in the fields of science and industry. This progress was necessary due to the sanctions many Western countries have imposed on Iran.