President Lula to make official visit to Colombia next week

The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will fly to Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, on Tuesday, April 16, at the invitation of President Gustavo Petro. On Wednesday (17), the two presidents will meet bilaterally, focusing on the agendas of trade and investment, sustainable development and Amazon cooperation, social programs, human rights and family farming, among others. The Brazilian president will also take part in the Brazil-Colombia Business Forum and the inauguration of the 36th Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBo), where Brazil is the guest of honor.

"These are two countries that have an important contingent of people of African descent and indigenous peoples, and their governments prioritize the strengthening of these sectors in society. At the same time, they are two governments that share very similar visions when it comes to the Amazonian dimension that they both have and South American and regional integration more broadly".
João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz
Director of the South America Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"These are two countries that have an important contingent of people of African descent and indigenous peoples, and their governments prioritize the strengthening of these sectors in society. At the same time, they are two governments that share very similar visions regarding the Amazonian dimension that they both have and about South American and regional integration more broadly," said Minister João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz, director of the South America Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a press briefing on Thursday, April 11.

President Lula's agenda in the neighboring country begins on Wednesday morning, when he meets with President Petro at Casa de Nariño, the seat of the Colombian government. After the meeting, bilateral acts will be signed, followed by a press statement and lunch.

President Lula will then take part in a Business Forum promoted by ApexBrasil and the trade promotion agency ProColombia. The event is expected to bring together around 300 Brazilian and Colombian businesspeople from a wide range of sectors.

The next appointment will be the inauguration of the 36th Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBo), whose motto is "read nature". The event will last two weeks and is expected to welcome around 600,000 visitors. As the country being honored, Brazil will have the main pavilion at the fair. A large delegation of Brazilian writers and artists is expected to attend: Ailton Krenak, Daiara Tukano, Eliane Potiguara, Bernardo Carvalho and Hermeto Pascoal.

"This visit by President Lula is another stage in the process of rapprochement with Colombia, which began with President Petro's presence here at the inauguration ceremony on January 1st, and then with his visit for the meeting of South American presidents and with President Lula's presence at the technical-scientific meeting prior to the Belém Summit in Leticia (Colombia)," explained Minister Queiroz.

OTHER ACTIVITIES - Before President Lula's agenda in Bogotá, there will be a parliamentary mission, organized by the Secretariat for Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, to establish contacts between Brazilian and Colombian congressmen on matters of interest to both countries. There will also be a seminar on family farming, sharing experiences from the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming.