President Lula will be in Egypt this Wednesday for his second official visit to the country

Egypt is presently Brazil's second largest trading partner in Africa, following a volume of trade of over USD 2.8 billion in 2023

Published in Feb 13, 2024 04:59 PM

President Lula’s intense schedule will include a number of bilateral meetings during his visit to Egypt and Ethiopia. Image: PR / Ricardo Stuckert

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will land in Egypt this Wednesday, February 14, for his second official trip to Africa during this third term. This will also be the second time that Lula visits the country. On the previous occasion, in 2003, Lula became the first head of state to visit Egypt since Dom Pedro II in the 1870s.

The invitation to visit—celebrating the 100 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and Egypt—was made by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in December 2022, during COP 27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, where Lula participated as president-elect.

Thursday’s (15) schedule includes an official state visit for meetings between the presidents; signing of bilateral acts; an official lunch; and a statement to the press by both heads of state. President Lula will also pay a visit to the League of Arab States’ headquarters in Cairo.

At the end of the day, the Brazilian delegation will leave for Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, where President Lula will take part in the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, on February 16 and 17, as a guest. The Brazilian government has been invited to meetings and bilateral agreements with different countries and bodies.

BILATERAL RELATIONS - Egypt is currently Brazil's second largest trading partner in Africa: in 2023, bilateral trade between the two countries reached USD 2.8 billion (USD489 million in Egyptian products being imported by Brazil, and USD 1.83 billion in Brazilian products being exported)—second only to Algeria at USD 4.2 billion. Egypt also became a member of BRICS in 2024, and will take part in the G20 at the invitation of the Brazilian government, which presides over the bloc until December.

Trade between the two countries tends to increase over the coming years, following the opening of the Egyptian market to several Brazilian products in 2023—such as fish and fish products, poultry, cotton, bananas, gelatin and collagen. The Egyptian government is expected to soon approve new slaughterhouses in Brazil, thus enhancing beef exports. The opening of an air route between Brazil and Egypt, connecting São Paulo to Cairo, will also be discussed.