Brazil and Nigeria sign bilateral agreements during state visit

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) said that Brazil wants to expand trade with Nigeria and affirmed that both countries are committed to free trade at a time when "protectionism and unilateralism" are resurgent worldwide. Lula received Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for a state visit on Monday, the 25th, at the Planalto Palace and reaffirmed his concern for the development of the African continent.

He recalled that trade between Brazil and Nigeria “has decreased drastically” in the last decade, from 10 billion dollars in 2014 to 2 billion last year, with Nigeria being Brazil’s fourth largest trading partner in Africa.

"In recent administrations, Brazil has distanced itself from Africa. Two of the largest economies in Latin America and Africa should have much greater exchange," he said during a press statement.

"At this time, when protectionism and unilateralism are resurgent, Nigeria and Brazil reaffirm their commitment to free trade and productive integration. We remain committed to building a world of peace, free from hegemonic impositions," he added.

Among the potential areas of cooperation, Lula cited agriculture and livestock, oil and gas, fertilizers, aircraft, and machinery. Currently, Brazil exports primarily sugar and molasses (74%), while imports are concentrated in fertilizers (48%) and petroleum and petroleum products (48%).

Lula reaffirmed that Brazil owes a debt to the African continent, given the 350 years of slavery to which Black people were subjected in Brazil. For the president, this historic debt must be repaid with solidarity, technology transfer, and assistance for the development of local agriculture, through a "solidarity, fraternal, and egalitarian" relationship.

"The only way we can repay them can't be measured in money; it has to be measured in solidarity, in political, economic, and cultural alignment. Brazil must help Africa by transferring technology, knowledge, and everything we learned here in Brazil that worked, especially in agriculture. Brazil has an obligation to help the African continent achieve the same development we've experienced here," he said.

Bola Tinubu, in turn, said that Nigeria has a very young population, ready to exchange ideas and seize opportunities through technology transfers. "They know that Brazil has the assets we need," he stated.

According to Tinubu, Nigeria has interests in the industrial production of generic drugs, already established in Brazil, and in partnerships with Petrobras in natural gas exploration. "We are the third-largest oil producer in Africa, and this is not leading to the valuable commercial activities it should," he stated.

Resumption

Nigeria is one of Brazil's main partners on the African continent, with 65 years of bilateral relations.

In June, in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin chaired the Strategic Dialogue Mechanism session on the Brazilian side. In March, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira made an official visit to Nigeria.

In this resumption of cooperation, Lula said that several agreements have already been signed in areas such as defense, agriculture and livestock, security, audiovisual production, trade, investments, tourism and energy.

During Monday's visit, five bilateral acts were signed. One of them is the civil aviation agreement, which aims to establish and operate air services between the two territories. The start of a direct flight between São Paulo and Lagos, a coastal city in Nigeria, was approved, to be operated by the African country's largest airline, Air Peace.

Memoranda of understanding were also signed for the training of diplomats , for the establishment of political consultations on bilateral issues and regional and international issues, and also between the National Bank for Economic and Social Development of Brazil (BNDES) and the Bank of Agriculture of Nigeria (BoA) for the promotion of trade and investment .

Finally, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in science, technology, and innovation . The goal is to promote effective collaboration in research on biotechnology and the bioeconomy, ocean science, innovation ecosystems, energy, space development, digital transformation, and raw materials development.

During his statement, Lula said that, later this semester, Brazil will assign a Federal Police attaché to work in Abuja, the Nigerian capital. "The concern with combating organized crime, terrorism, and international drug trafficking was also at the center of our meeting today," he said.

"One of the perverse consequences of globalization is the articulation of criminal groups across national borders. No country alone will be able to combat domestic crime. Crime is evolving at an unprecedented speed, requiring urgent and coordinated multilateral action," the president added.

After the meeting at the Planalto Palace, Lula welcomed the authorities for lunch at the Itamaraty Palace.

Also on Monday, the Nigerian president will be received by the presidents of the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Supreme Federal Court and will participate in the closing of the Nigeria-Brazil Business Forum, alongside Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who is also Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services.