Brazil President Lula Set to Visit Bangladesh Early Next Year

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus meets Brazilian President Lula on the sidelines of the World Food Forum in Rome.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has expressed his intention to visit Bangladesh in the coming months, marking a significant step towards strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.

President Lula conveyed his interest during a meeting with Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, on Monday (Rome time), held on the sidelines of the World Food Forum (WFF) flagship event organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy.

Both leaders served as keynote speakers at the forum and later held a bilateral meeting at the FAO headquarters to discuss areas of mutual cooperation, including social business, universal healthcare, social inclusion, and poverty reduction strategies.

During the discussion, Professor Yunus extended a formal invitation to President Lula to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time. The Brazilian president gladly accepted, expressing his wish to make the visit by February next year.

“I will go to Bangladesh,” President Lula affirmed, adding that Brazil is eager to share its experience in delivering universal healthcare and to learn from Bangladesh’s globally recognised innovations in social business and microcredit.

“That would be fantastic,” Professor Yunus replied enthusiastically.

The two leaders also discussed potential collaboration in areas such as deep-sea fishing, pharmaceuticals—particularly the push to make vaccines patent-free and affordable—climate change, and preparations for the upcoming COP30 climate summit. They also touched on Bangladesh’s recent youth-led uprising in July 2024, which drew international attention.

Professor Yunus reminisced about his previous visits to Brazil, including his meeting with then-President Lula in 2008 and his tour of major Brazilian cities in October 2023.

In turn, President Lula invited Professor Yunus to attend COP30, which Brazil will host in an Amazonian state to highlight global efforts to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest.

The Chief Adviser thanked the Brazilian leader for the invitation but noted that he might not be able to attend the conference due to his involvement in preparations for Bangladesh’s forthcoming general election, expected to be held in the first half of February next year.

Describing the upcoming election as a “real and landmark” moment for the nation, Professor Yunus said it would be the first genuinely fair election in 16 years. He stressed that previous elections under the former autocratic regime were “fake and rigged.”

Both leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening cooperation and enhancing trade between Bangladesh and Brazil, particularly in emerging sectors that could benefit both economies.

In a lighter exchange, the conversation turned to football—a shared passion for both nations. Professor Yunus noted the enduring popularity of Brazilian football among Bangladeshis, saying, “People in every village in Bangladesh support Brazil.”

The meeting was attended by Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter, SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed, and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam. Several Brazilian ministers and senior officials were also present.