Brazil's president made some fascinating remarks about Africa during his speech at the BRICS conference in South Africa.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, often known as Lula, stated that Africa offers far too many prospects and that Brazil should never have left the continent. "Brazil is back on the continent it should never have left. Africa gathers many opportunities and a huge potential for growth,” the president of the South American giant said.
Lula's remarks were a subtle dig at his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who never visited Africa during his four-year presidency. Following a hotly disputed election campaign, Lula was sworn in as Brazil's president in January 2023. Between 2003 and 2010, the seasoned left-wing lawmaker led the country on multiple excursions to Africa.
This year, the Brazilian president has already paid a quick visit to Cape Verde. He has prioritized improving connections with the so-called "global south" in his country's foreign policy. “In my first two mandates, the African continent had been a priority. I went 12 times to Africa to 21 countries,” Lula said.
Despite Brazil's inclusive foreign policy, according to Brazilian news sources, the government is not interested in extending Brics membership, as China and Russia prefer.
Following the summit in South Africa, the Brazilian president will continue his African tour, stopping in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe to attend a conference of the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries.
Ethiopia and Algeria have made compelling arguments for joining the BRICS in the last two months. Ethiopia, Africa's second-largest population, requested the opportunity to reap the benefits of being classified as a BRIC country.
A month later, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was quoted by Ennahar TV as saying that his country has submitted an application to join the BRICS organization as well as a request to become a shareholder member of the BRICS Bank with a $1.5 billion payment. Algeria is striving to diversify its economy and strengthen ties with countries such as China.