Nigeria, Brazil move to deepen bilateral relations

Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has extended an invitation to President Bola Tinubu to visit his country in the near future as part of moves to deepen bilateral relations among the two countries. 

The Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister, Mauro Viera, disclosed this during a meeting with his Nigerian counterpart, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, in Abuja.

Viera is in Nigeria on an official visit aimed at boosting cooperation between the two countries.

During the visit, the Brazilian delegation is expected to engage in high-level talks with Nigerian officials, exploring opportunities for collaboration in areas such as agriculture, energy, and infrastructure development.

The two countries are also expected to sign several agreements aimed at strengthening their bilateral ties.

The Brazilian minister emphasised the importance of strategic dialogue and exploring deeper relations in various areas, including culture, economics, cooperation, education, and more.

He highlighted the close contact between Brazilians and Nigerians, as well as the significant presence of Nigerians in Brazilian society and culture.

“We are very pleased that President Tinubu went to Brazil for the G20 summit in November. We value a lot the contribution of Nigeria to the G20 and we hope that President Tinubu will be able to come back to Brazil in the near future. 

“I take also this opportunity to express the desire of President Lula to receive President Tinubu in Brazil in a visit in the near future. 

“And we consider this instance, this moment of consultations between our two ministries, very important. It’s a follow up of the previous engagements we had. We have to work on our mechanism for strategic dialogue and to continue exploring ways to have deeper and closer relations in all areas.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuggar, noted that Brazil was the only Latin American country to attend Nigeria’s independence celebration, underscoring the strong historical ties between the two nations.

Ambassador Tuggar emphasised the significance of the visit, saying, “This visit is a continuation of our efforts to strengthen the bond between our two countries.”