President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) landed this Sunday (12) in Roma for official engagements at the Vatican and the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The visit takes place without a scheduled meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Lula traveled accompanied by First Lady Rosângela da Silva (Janja), and ministers of foreign affairs, agrarian development and social assistance. The official agenda begins this Monday (13), with an audience with Pope Leo XIV scheduled for 8 am (3 am in Brasília).
Visit to the Vatican and international forum
The meeting with the pontiff will take place at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. The Brazilian president will then attend the opening of the World Food Forum, hosted by the FAO, which this year celebrates 80 years of global action.
In addition to the ceremony, Lula is scheduled to hold meetings with authorities involved in food issues and family farming. He is expected to return to Brazil later on Monday evening.
Despite his presence in the Italian capital, there are no expectations of a meeting with Giorgia Meloni. The lack of a meeting between the two leaders reinforces the diplomatic distance given the divergent political positions between the Brazilian and Italian governments.
