Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) announced his intention to meet with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, during his trip to Rome to meet Pope Francis.
Lula seeks to strengthen ties between Brazil and Italy, highlighting the lack of official visits by Italian authorities to the country.
Lack of official visits from Italian authorities worries
On his live show “Conversation with the President“, broadcast on social media, this Tuesday (13), Lula highlighted the lack of visits by Italian government officials to Brazil in recent years.
“I'm going to Italy to visit the Pope, but do you know how long it's been since an Italian ruler has been to Brazil? Many years, many decades,” said Lula.
The last official visit took place during the 2016 Olympics, when then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was in the country.
Brazil is the largest Italian country outside of Italy
With approximately 30 million Italian descendants, Brazil is considered the largest Italian country outside of Italy. Lula highlighted the importance of this community and expressed surprise at the absence of official visits from Italian authorities, suggesting that this may be due to a lack of invitation or the feeling of being unwelcome.
“We have 30 million Italian descendants in Brazil. I think Brazil is the biggest Italian country outside of Italy. And why doesn't the guy come here? Either because he is not invited or because he does not feel welcome here. I will take the initiative”, promised Lula.
However, Lula made no mention of a possible meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, during your trip.
Lula takes the initiative to strengthen ties between the two countries
Faced with this situation, Lula promised to take the initiative to strengthen ties between Brazil and Italy. During his trip to Rome to meet Pope Francis, he also plans to meet with President Sergio Mattarella, seeking to strengthen diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries.
The visit to Rome to see Pope Francis and the subsequent forum on green economy in France, where Lula will be alongside President Emmanuel Macron, represent an opportunity for the former Brazilian president to reinforce Brazil's presence on the international stage and highlight the relevance of the Italian community in the country.
