Brazilian President Begins European Tour and Lands in Rome

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday as part of his third trip to Europe since he was re-elected last year. 

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Lula announced his arrival on social networks, where he spoke of his meeting with Italian sociologist Domenico de Masi. "Good meeting and conversation with friend and professor Domenico de Masi. We met in Curitiba and also when I was in Rome before the pandemic, in 2020. We talked about the political scenario in Brazil and Europe," Lula said on Twitter. 

The president's agenda includes a meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Wednesday afternoon. Lula will also meet the same day with his counterpart in Italy, Sergio Matarella, and with the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri. 

The meeting with the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, will also take place on Wednesday at the Vatican. The leader of the Workers' Party (PT) has indicated that they will discuss the current conflict in Ukraine, climate change, and the fight against hunger.

I arrived in Italy. 5 hours difference from Brazil. Today I meet Professor Domenico de Masi. Tomorrow, audience with Pope Francis.

Lula will leave on Thursday for Paris, where he will participate in the Summit on the New Global Finance Pact, which targets the response to the challenges of climate change. 

On the same day, Lula will deliver the closing speech of the Power Our Planet event, to be held at the Champ de Mars, in front of the Eiffel Tower. The invitation to participate in the event, promoted by Global Citizen, was extended to Lula by musician Chris Martin, lead singer of the band Coldplay.

After the closing of the summit, the Brazilian president will have lunch with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace, the seat of government. Lula said that the priority is to discuss the European Union-Mercosur agreement following the new demands approved by the French Parliament on environmental matters.