Lula: "Development cannot be the privilege of a few"

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended as a guest the opening session of the 37th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this Saturday, February 17. With Lula's support, the entity began its integration into the G20 in 2023, under the presidency of Brazil.

In his speech, the President defended a global front against hunger, one of the main topics on the agenda promoted by Brazil in international forums, and highlighted the importance of a partnership to promote the economic and social development.

"The African struggle has a lot in common with the challenges and struggles of the Brazilian people. More than half of the 200 million Brazilian citizens recognize themselves as Afro-descendants. We, Africans and Brazilians, need to chart our own paths in the emerging international order,", highlighted Lula.

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Full speech read by President Lula
High-resolutions images (Flickr)

The history of cooperation between Brazil and Ethiopia includes initiatives towards agricultural production techniques in semi-arid regions; sharing experiences in biofuels; small-scale agricultural irrigation; school feeding; basic sanitation; and sustainable forest management.

"Development cannot continue to be the privilege of a few. Only an inclusive social project will allow us to elect our own, free, democratic and sovereign societies. There will be no stability or democracy if hunger and unemployment remain," said Lula, also pointing out that Brazil wants to grow alongside Africa. “The Global South is becoming an unavoidable part of the solution to the main crises that now afflict this planet,” he argued.

Development cannot continue to be the privilege of a few. Only an inclusive social project will allow us to elect our own, free, democratic and sovereign societies. There will be no stability or democracy with hunger and unemployment
LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA
Brazil’s President 

Lula emphasized, during the opening of the Summit, that he will work towards making Africa an independent continent in the production of food and clean and renewable energy. He also extended the partnership invitation to the health sector.

"There are here 400 million hectares spread across more than twenty-five countries, with the potential to make this continent a great breadbasket for the world, enabling policies to combat hunger and produce alternative energy, including biofuels," he said.

ISRAEL x PALESTINE — Lula once again defended the existence of a Palestinian State and repudiated Israel's disproportionate response—which killed almost 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza (the vast majority of them women and children) and caused the forced displacement of over 80% of the population of Palestine.

"The solution to this crisis will only be lasting if we move quickly towards the creation of a free and sovereign Palestinian State that is recognized as a full member of the United Nations. A strengthened UN with a more representative Security Council, without countries with veto power and with permanent members from Africa and Latin America", he pointed out.

ABOUT THE SUMMIT — The topic of the 37th Summit is “Educating an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa”. It is the third time that President Lula has taken part in an African Union Summit. The African Union (AU) was created in 2002 and succeeded the Organization of African Unity, founded on May 25, 1963.

Imbued with the values of independence, unity, peace and cooperation that motivated its predecessor, the AU strives to promote solutions to the challenges faced by African countries towards strengthening peace, sovereignty and socioeconomic development in the continent. The organization has contributed significantly to Africa’s institutional consolidation and played a vital role in conflict prevention and mediation.

The AU's initiatives are focused on respect for human rights, economic integration and administrative transparency in its members. Promoting sustainable development and promoting equality between men and women and female empowerment are prominent themes among these initiatives.

FOREIGN RELATIONS — On Wednesday (14) President Lula began his second official trip to Africa since taking office for his third term. The first stop was Egypt. The invitation for the visit which celebrates 100 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Egypt was made by the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, at COP 27.

The official visit was marked by the signing of two bilateral agreements: a protocol that guarantees food safety, rigorous quality standards and removes bureaucratic constraints on the export of beef, pork and poultry from Brazil to Egypt; and a memorandum that reinforces partnerships, cooperation and research in the areas of science, technology and innovation between countries.

DELEGATION — President Lula traveled to Egypt and Ethiopia alongside Brazilian Ministers Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs); Wellington Dias (Development and Social Assistance, Family and the Fight Against Hunger); Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation); Anielle Franco (Racial Equality); Silvio Almeida (Human Rights and Citizenship); Vinícius Marques de Carvalho (Comptroller General of the Union); and Special Advisor Audo Faleiro.